2017 Alumnae Supported Scholarship Recipient Announced
Neha Seshadri Selected By Joyce Ivy Alumnae
ANN ARBOR, MI, April 28, 2017 – The Joyce Ivy Foundation recently announced the names of eighty young women receiving 2017 summer scholarships for pre-college study at highly selective colleges and universities. From the group of 2017 Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholars, Neha Seshadri, a junior at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been selected to receive the 2017 Alumnae Scholarship.
Since 2013, alumnae of the Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholars program have engaged in an annual “Pay It Forward” fundraising campaign to support a scholarship for a current Summer Scholar. To date, the Joyce Ivy Foundation has named 635 Summer Scholars, including eighty members of the 2017 cohort. The alumnae campaign seeks to collect small donations from alumnae, as well as donations alumnae raise in their local communities, to support a scholarship.
“I am so proud of the hard work that each of the Fellows put into fundraising during the campaign,” said Ashley Lane, JIF ’15, Joyce Ivy Fellow and 2017 Philanthropy Team co-chair. “My summer experience at Brown University changed the way that I viewed myself and my future. The Joyce Ivy Foundation has provided me with wonderful opportunities that I would not have otherwise had. As a Fellow, I love that I get to work with other young women who are just as passionate about Joyce Ivy’s mission as I am, and want to work to pay-it-forward for the next cohort of Summer Scholars.”
Neha Seshadri has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Alumnae Scholarship. Neha is the founder and President of Helping Hands Going Global, a nonprofit organization. She also founded and is President of the Leadership and Technology for Girls Club. Neha is an assistant swim coach, private tutor, babysitter, dog walker, and mentor. She is also part of her school newspaper’s editorial team. Neha is DECA State Champion in Principles of Marketing and was the top finisher in Michigan in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. In addition, Neha has extensive volunteer experience with organizations such as Special Olympics and TEDxYouth.
“In her application, Neha demonstrated a willingness to cast aside her preconceived notions in order to learn and appreciate the world around her,” said Aditi Adhikari, JIF ’14, a 2017 Senior Fellow and member of the Summer Scholars Selection Committee. “Having already taken it upon herself to create a nonprofit, Neha truly embodies the idea of ‘paying it forward’ and giving back to the communities that have helped her. I have no doubt she can take the lessons she learns at the Brown Leadership Institute and apply them in the most impactful way possible to every community of which she is a part.”
“I am incredibly humbled and honored to be selected as the recipient of the Alumnae Scholarship,” said Neha Sheshadri. “I am grateful to have the support of the Joyce Ivy the alumnae who thought I was worthy of this award. With this scholarship, I will be able to explore a whole new world of higher learning and experience campus life. I am so excited to meet students from across the globe who will join me in my summer venture at the Leadership institute. With the knowledge and skills I gain, I hope to empower more women to become the voice of tomorrow.”
The 2017 Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholars are among the most diverse and academically talented students in the Foundation’s history. Summer Scholars have the opportunity to study at 11 partner colleges and universities: Barnard College, Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Emory University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Smith College, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University.
The 2017 Scholars, along with the Joyce Ivy Leader of the Year and Women of Impact award recipients will be honored at the 12th Annual Gala on May 6.
