By Anne Pryor
Margaret’s Fund

Margaret’s Fund: A Northside Scholarship is delighted to announce two awardees for 2019.

René Bedolla, a graduate of Sherman Middle School and East High School, is now attending Loyola University in Chicago where he is studying Spanish and Italian, and minoring in music. His goal is to return to the Northside as an educator. René has already demonstrated his interest in contributing to our community through his volunteer work with The River Food Pantry and the MUNCH Program. René is the son of Valente and Araceli Bedolla. 

Josselin Ceballos De Santiago graduated from Lindbergh Elementary, Black Hawk Middle and East High Schools. She is currently attending Madison College in the nursing program. Jossie developed leadership skills through participating in multiple programs at the Vera Court Neighborhood Center, including the Latino Leadership Board and Girl Power. She also worked as an intern at Troy Community Gardens. Jossie is the daughter of Froilan Ceballos and Angelica De Santiago. 

This year’s scholarship was available to any Northside resident graduating from high school with plans to continue studies in fall of 2019. Preference was given to applicants who actively participated or volunteered in Northside organizations, were among the first in their family to pursue higher education or had overcome substantial obstacles or challenges to success.

2019 is the first year in which Margaret’s Fund awarded two scholarships, thanks to the core fund having grown enough since it was established in 2007. Managed by the Madison Community Foundation, Margaret’s Fund supports Northside residents who are pursuing higher education. The award goes to a graduating high school senior in odd years and to a returning adult in even years. 

Margaret’s Fund has made 10 awards to date: Tara Hoffman (2009), Nicole Tackes (2010), Stacey Yang (2011), Omobolanle Kikelomo Olumbi (2012), Chekwube Obieze (2013), Melissa Marie Alexander (2014), Aminata Bojang (2015), Felicia Jones (2016), Vanessa Kana (2017), and Terri Hatchett (2018). You can see the happy faces of these recipients at margarets-fund.com. 

Donations to the fund are tax deductible and very much appreciated.