Brooke Reed’s shoulders are feeling a little lighter these days as she shops for colleges without worrying about a possible deal-breaker: the price tag.
The Red Bank High School junior recently won the Leonore Annenberg College Scholarship, a four-year, all-expenses-paid scholarship that just a handful of students nationwide receive. The award will cover tuition and fees, room and board, a laptop and a stipend to the college or university of her choice beginning in the fall of 2011.
“It is the greatest honor that I could ever receive,” said Miss Reed, 17, who is involved in academic, athletic and philanthropic activities.
The scholarship, established in 2007 by Leonore Annenberg, is part of a 10-year initiative to offer grants and scholarships to young people who have been successful in school despite significant challenges.
Miss Reed’s 21-year-old brother and 19-year-old sister are both in college. To send her, too, would have been a financial hardship for her family, she said.