The Royal Palm Beach Village Council presented its annual scholarships to 10 graduating seniors from the community at a meeting Thursday, May 16.
“I’d like to say a special welcome to all of the bright young men and women, and especially all of the parents and family members,” Mayor Fred Pinto said at the start of the meeting. “This is a special occasion for you and your children and your family.”
Education Advisory Board liaison Vice Mayor Jeff Hmara thanked the board for their hard work in interviewing and selecting the 10 new graduates for the $1,000 village scholarships.
“It’s always challenging when you have such great candidates,” Hmara said. “For everybody’s information, there were four particular categories that we emphasized when considering who to select for the award of these scholarships. One was leadership capacity, and another was academic achievement. The third was civic involvement, and the fourth was future goals. Each one of the candidates had outstanding presentations and outstanding backgrounds that should make all of us feel comfortable about the future going forward, so congratulations to all of you.”
Eight of the 2024 village honorees attended the meeting to receive their scholarship awards.
Olivia Biery, from Seminole Ridge High School, a Leadership Palm Beach County 2023 GROW graduate, was chosen to serve as a counselor for the South Florida Leadership training camp. This summer, she plans to attend Palm Beach State College before transferring to Florida Gulf Coast University.
Royal Palm Beach High School graduate Dylan Craib successfully completed the medical sciences/pre-medicine academy program and is eligible for the AICE diploma. As a dual-enrolled student, he has already received an associate’s degree from Palm Beach State College. Craib will attend Florida State University’s honors program to study STEM entrepreneurship and finance.
Madison Gardner, also of RPBHS, is a top 10 student who will attend the University of Florida, where she plans to major in health sciences. Gardner hopes to become a pediatrician.
Sydney Greenaway-Matthew graduated from RPBHS as the 2024 Career and Technical Education Student of the Year. An afterschool counselor at Cypress Trails Elementary School, Greenaway-Matthew is also a member of the Best Buddies program, the National Honor Society and serves as vice president of socials for the Florida Future Educators of America.
RPBHS student Allyson Leppert is slated to attend the University of North Florida and major in elementary education. A student council and National Honor Society member, she earned more than 600 community service hours and wants to return to Palm Beach County to teach.
Rylee Manuel graduated in the top 20 percent of her class RPBHS. She created new clubs at the school, as well as starting the Dance Marathon program there.
Kinley Seider of Glades Day School is a 17-year-old senior and class president. She serves as the National Honor Society vice president at her school. Seider will attend Florida State University to study nursing and plans to become a nurse anesthetist.
RPBHS’s Nevaeh Thompson is an honor roll student in DECA who also works with Fosters in Need and the yearbook. Thompson will continue her education at Palm Beach State College to pursue a degree in radiologic technology.
Unable to attend the presentation were Wellington High School graduate Tyler Wink and Seminole Ridge High School’s Nirvani Balkaran. Both students plan to attend Florida State University. Wink, who placed third in his class, plans to major in business before attending law school. Varsity soccer player Balkaran intends to major in exercise physiology.
