Celebrating Excellence: Masterman’s Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Award Semi-Finalists

College application season has descended and the seniors of Masterman are hard at work. Yet even once applications have been submitted, scholarship submissions await. The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Award is one of the most prestigious and competitive scholarship awards in the United States. Each year, it recognizes students who demonstrate exceptional leadership, community service, and academic excellence. They received over 100,000 applications for the 2024-2025 school year, and far less than one percent of these applications will be chosen as winners. The dedicated winners of this award receive $20,000, spread out over the course of four years. Being named a Coca-Cola Scholar represents more than just a financial award. This is an acknowledgment of a student’s hard work and an investment in their continued pursuit of scholarship after high school. 

Marisa Maisano and Aiden Sanxhaku have been selected among this year’s semi-finalists. When asked what factors contributed to getting this close to the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation Award, Aiden responded, “One aspect that helped was a diversity of interests while maintaining one or two 'peaks' in a particular subject/activity. I'd say my two peaks were probably STEM activities like research or STEM-oriented clubs, and volunteering through tutoring.” Marisa added, “Overall, I would just say my extracurriculars through the years, Girl Scouts, Masterman Queens, SGA, chess, events committee, orchestra, Students Run, and others. For this scholarship, they really wanna see leadership within your commitments, which I’ve been lucky enough to achieve through my many years of involvement.”