Glenbrook South grad earns $5,000 Plum Cares Academic Scholarship
• Glenview resident Elena Pauker was selected as the 2021 Plum Cares Academic Scholarship winner. This is a one-time scholarship of $5,000, which will be devoted to Pauker's studies at Washington University in St. Louis, where she intends to pursue a degree in finance and be a part of the university's club gymnastics team.
This year is the fourth annual Plum Cares Academic Scholarship, where each spring, Plum Practicewear, an online retailer of gymnastics apparel and accessories, opens its application process for gymnasts across the country.
The scholarship was made available to graduating high school seniors who identify as competitive gymnasts within one of the following disciplines: artistic, rhythmic, acrobatic, tumbling or trampoline.
Pauker is a recent graduate of Glenbrook South High School and has finished as a Level 10 gymnast from the American Academy of Gymnastics.
When asked about winning the scholarship, Pauker stated, "Being awarded the Plum scholarship is a great honor. I am thankful for the support from the Plum community as I embark on a new chapter of my life. I am looking forward to broadening my business skills and becoming an impactful leader."
• Northbrook resident Eleanor Bosacoma was inducted into the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 30.
Bosacoma is a 2021 graduate of Glenbrook North High School, where she was a Glenbrook Scholar, a member of the National Honor Society and captain of the varsity water polo team swim team.
She was also the founder of the Glenbrook North ISR Science Club and a state and national science fair winner.
Bosacoma will major in oceanography at the academy.
• Madailein O'Brien, a high school student in Buffalo Grove, was awarded a National Security Language Initiative for Youth Virtual Summer Intensive scholarship to study the Chinese (Mandarin) language for six weeks.
The National Security Language Initiative for Youth is a program of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that promotes critical language learning among American youth.
The 2021 Virtual Summer Intensive program is an online alternative for National Security Language Initiative for Youth immersion programs that could not take place overseas due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
O'Brien, who was selected from 2,500 applicants from across the United States, is one of 500 students who will study Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Persian, Russian, or Turkish as part of the virtual exchange.
The Virtual Summer Intensive program provides robust language and cultural learning opportunities by virtually connecting the participants with overseas teachers, international peers, cultural organizations and communities where the target language is spoken.