Scholarship Reception
HCC to celebrate scholarship awardees
Holyoke Community College will celebrate the nearly 400 students who have been awarded HCC Foundation scholarships for the 2025-2026 academic year with a special reception on Thursday, May 15.
The HCC Foundation’s annual Scholarship Reception will run from 3 to 5 p.m. on the second floor of the HCC Campus Center.
For the 2025-2026 academic year, the HCC Foundation awarded 410 scholarships worth $364,400 to 379 incoming, current, and graduating students. Individual awards range from $500 to $5,000. Some students will receive more than one scholarship.
“Scholarships play an essential role in facilitating student success, and that's true now more than ever,” said Amanda Sbriscia, vice president of institutional advancement and executive director of the HCC Foundation. “Many of our students are also parents, they are studying part time to balance school and work, and each one is driven to succeed. Scholarship support acknowledges academic achievement while also enabling our students to remain focused on the finish line: earning a college degree.”
The reception for scholarship recipients and their families will feature remarks from Sbriscia and Laura White, HCC assistant director of donor relations. Keynote speeches will be delivered by 2025 scholarship recipient Diana Rodriguez of Chicopee; and donor LouAnn Daly, a former Holyoke resident, who has endowed two HCC Foundation scholarships.
“Our donors clearly recognize that today's college experience requires more than support for tuition and fees,” Sbriscia said. “Scholarships support successful transfer, allow for experiences outside the classroom, and ensure that students remain on a path to success. We are incredibly grateful for their support and are thrilled to be celebrating these deserving students.”
The nonprofit HCC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) that works to advance the college’s mission, vision, and values. Founded in 1968 as the Friends of Holyoke Community College, in response to a devastating fire that forced the college to rebuild on a new campus, the Foundation now manages assets of more than $20 million, the largest community college foundation endowment in Massachusetts.
PHOTO: (Thunbnail) HCC student Diana Rodriguez, right, will give the student speech at the 2025 HCC Foundation Scholarship Reception on May 15; (Above) HCC Scholarship Reception 2024.
