Forest Hills pre-kindergartner earns Shady Side Academy scholarship
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A Forest Hills pre-kindergartner was awarded full tuition for his entire Shady Side Academy education, through his senior year.
It is worth more than $300,000.
Abram Amos-Abanyie was named the school’s newest EQT Scholar, providing a full-ride education at the school which was recently named the Best Private School in the Pittsburgh area.
“We were speechless when we found out,” said Abram’s mother, Kristin Amos-Abanyie, whose three older children also attend SSA.
The family is grateful for the scholarship, knowing that an SSA education provides a lifelong foundation, she said.
“We love being part of this community and having the peace of mind to know that Abram’s tuition is covered until he graduates is a huge relief.”
Founded in 2016, Shady Side’s EQT Scholars Program covers full tuition beginning in pre-K or kindergarten through grade 12 for two students with demonstrated financial need.
The program is funded by an endowment from the EQT Foundation, the charitable arm of natural gas producer EQT Corporation.
Over 13 or 14 years, the scholarship is worth more than $300,000, Shady Side Academy director of communications Jen Roupe said.
Junior School fourth-grader Adrianna Ballard of Swissvale is the other current EQT Scholar, named in 2016.
Students are guaranteed financial assistance as long as they maintain good academic standing and continue to demonstrate the need for extra funding.
Amos-Abanyie, a student at the Junior School in Point Breeze, is a model student who sets an example of how to live “The Shady Side Way” every day, teacher Melissa Petitto-Kenny said.
“He is quick to help friends in the classroom, as well as teachers,” she said. “He finds joy in learning and is always ready to try any activity we offer him, especially when it involves building structures or making art.”
The youngster comes to school each day with a smile, she added, and his “quiet kindness and big imagination are a gift to our class.”