Scholarship Fund of Alexandria raises $400,000 at annual gala and auction

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Scholarship Fund of Alexandria raises $400,000 at annual gala and auction
Cindy Do, a scholarship recipient, speaks at the annual gala and auction (Photo courtesy ACPS)
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The Scholarship Fund of Alexandria raised more than $400,000 at its 32nd Annual Spring Benefit Gala and Auction on Saturday, Alexandria City Public Schools announced in a news release.

The gala and auction took place at Hilton Alexandria Mark Center and attracted 560 guests. Supporters were able to participate in silent, online and live auctions.

The event recognized three past scholarship recipients who went on to achieve personal and professional success with a “Portrait of Success” award. This year, the fund awarded T.C. Class of 1998 graduates Micheline Diakite, a construction management executive with Boston Properties; Clark Mercer, chief of staff to Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and Dr. Kenneth Shumate, doctor of dental surgery.

Incoming ACPS Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings Jr., himself a T.C. graduate, recipient of a fund scholarship and “Portrait of Success” honoree, also attended the auction and gala.

“I am a scholarship recipient and it changed the trajectory of my life. I want to tell our young people that you can grow up to become the superintendent of the school where you got your start. I am so grateful for the start that the Scholarship Fund gave me,” Hutchings said in a statement.

Thirty members of the T.C. Class of 2018, of the total 150 scholarship recipients, received scholarships.

“I am the first generation in my family to attend college. My parents came here from Vietnam before I was born; they could never have imagined I would be here with you tonight. Your support and this scholarship mean everything to me,” Cindy Do, a scholarship recipient who will attend University of Virginia in the fall, said at the event.

The Scholarship Fund of Alexandria has raised $14.5 million in scholarships and helped more than 4,600 students attend college since its creation in 1986. It provides scholarships and financial aid advice to students in partnership with ACPS.

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