First Lady Mary Pat Christie recently announced that Eastern Regional High School senior Stephanie Harvey is among 25 recipients of the 2015 New Jersey Heroes Spirit of a Hero Scholarship during a ceremony at Drumthwacket, the Governor’s official residence in Princeton. The $5,000 scholarships, which emanate from the Heart of a Hero program for military veterans, continues the Christie Administration’s commitment to assist New Jersey students pursue post-secondary education opportunities.
“This is our third year for the Spirit of a Hero Scholarship program and I am continually amazed by the character and commitment demonstrated by our young people in taking on serious issues impacting communities throughout New Jersey,” said Christie. “From human trafficking and environmental stewardship to STEM education and programs for individuals with special needs, all of our applicants and awardees are doing outstanding work to give back and help improve the lives of others. With the Spirit of a Hero Scholarship, we are recognizing and honoring these good deeds while helping these young adults to achieve their career goals. This is a truly inspiring day that represents the best of New Jersey.”
Since its inception in 2013 to date, New Jersey Heroes has awarded $335,000 in scholarship funding to 67 students from across the state through the Spirit of a Hero program.
Camden County’s 2015 Spirit of a Hero recipient is Stephanie Harvey, of Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees.
As a freshman, Harvey began volunteering in the special needs community on weekends. After seeing some of the special needs clients in her high school, she thought about how she could take her volunteerism a step further. She launched the Lunch Buddies program — a program that matches a special needs student with a “buddy” to eat with during lunch.
The response to the program was overwhelming, with over 200 students volunteering on the first day.
Stephanie will begin studying Penn State University majoring in communication science and disorders to obtain her speech-language pathology.
