Capital Health grants new scholarships in partnership
By Kaitlyn McCormick
Four Rider students were awarded inaugural full- tuition scholarships from Capital Health as a part of the university’s ongoing partnership with the organization which began in 2020.
Senior communication studies major Andrew Coates, one of the recipients of the scholarship, said about winning, “It felt like a burden was kind of lifted off of me, just because I did have to pay for most of my education…it kind of has been hanging over my head.”
Junior history major Rachel Burnett, junior global supply chain major Gloria Owusu and junior computer science major Johannah Stevenson also received full-tuition scholarships.
Any employee or immediate family member of a Capital Health employee is eligible to apply as long as they are a full-time undergraduate student, including transfers and continuing studies, with a minimum 3.0 GPA and good standing with the university.
Drew Aromando, Rider’s vice president of enrollment management, said, “We are partnering with [Capital Health] on the selection, and in their case they want to make sure that they were choosing both high academic and need based scenarios so that it was balanced across all of the aspects that they felt were important.”
Al Maghazehe, president and CEO of Capital Health, said in a June 23 press release for the university, “As our relationship with Rider grows, we’ll offer similar scholarship opportunities annually as part of a broader education benefits program for our employees and their families.”
Although the recipients of the 2022 scholarships were upperclassmen, the press release states that the full-tuition awards are “awarded for four consecutive years or until completion of the academic program.”
While the scholarships are a new addition to the partnership, Capital Health’s employee education benefits program also includes a 50% tuition discount for non-union employees and their immediate family members with no application fees.
Aromando said, “It’s a great opportunity for them to essentially maintain up-skill staff and support the growing knowledge of their employees and provide benefits to their employees’ families.”
In addition to its two hospitals located in Trenton and Hopewell, N.J., Capital Health has a broader regional network of primary and specialty care facilities as well as an outpatient facility in Hamilton. One of the key components of Capital Health’s partnership with the university is each party’s dedication to the surrounding community.
“They’re a big partner with a big commitment toward the city of Trenton…we’ve shared that common interest of giving back to the community… we want to make sure that interests lie in the same place,” Aromando explained, also mentioning that Rider was originally founded with connection to Trenton as the Trenton Business College.
As for the future of this partnership, there is “a lot more to come,” according to Aromando.
“I’m excited about where the partnership has come and where it’s going. And I’m really excited about the benefit that it’s providing for students,” he said.
