NHS Seniors Receive $40,000 Each For “Living The Example”

(L-R) Jeremy Dawidowicz, Joshua Dawidowicz, Sydney Makarovich and Delaney Hatfield each received a $40,000 scholarship for educating their peers about alternatives to drug use.

Photo by Zach Sparks

Posted Wednesday, May 15, 2019 2:36 pm

By Zach Sparks

Four Northeast seniors got involved in a new program called Living the Example because they wanted to help their peers, but they got some help of their own in the form of $40,000 checks.

Jeremy Dawidowicz, Joshua Dawidowicz, Sydney Makarovich and Delaney Hatfield each received SFIG Foundation Scholarships on May 3 to recognize their work educating peers about drug misuse. The financial assistance was provided by the SGIF Foundation, Mentor Foundation USA and Scholarship America to honor students who completed Mentor Foundation USA’s career mentoring or youth ambassador programs.

“It sounded like something I would be interested in joining because it was about making positive choices and being a positive role model for other students in the school,” said Hatfield, who is also a member of Northeast’s SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) club.

With the help of their Living the Example group members, the students planned a winter bizarre called Miracle on Duvall Highway on December 1, 2018. Held in the school cafeteria, the event had games, activities, food and crafts.

“It was to show the effects of substance abuse and why kids should have healthy lifestyles instead,” Josh Dawidowicz said.

The scholarship winners all have college aspirations that will be furthered by the scholarship money.

The Dawidowicz brothers will attend University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Jeremy plans to major in business management. Josh is considering several options: economics, business or information technology management. Makarovich will study at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida in pursuit of a degree in aerospace engineering. After the summer, Hatfield will head to the University of Tampa to study marine biology.

Asked how the scholarship will help, Makarovich said, “It will help me immensely because their tuition is very high and I know that I’m going to do well at that school because it’s the most education I can get for my major, so this is great.”

Four other students also won scholarships — Glen Burnie High School students Icram Doku and Destiny Herrington and Old Mill High School students Kiara Mclendon and Richard Nukpeta.