Four Girls Scouts from Kearny are among several others who are Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey (GSHNJ) 2025 William and Ida M. Kiefer Trust Scholarships recipients. The scholarships are awarded to Girl Scouts from Essex and Hudson counties pursuing post-high school education. This year, a total of $18,426 was distributed among the applicants, with individual scholarship amounts ranging from $250 to $3,757.
The Kearny recipients are Vanessa Costa, who is heading to Fairleigh Dickinson University; Isabella Fernandes-Santinho, who is heading to Smith College; Ava Lawdanski, who is heading to Seton Hall University; and Sofia Matos, who is heading to the University of California Los Angeles.
The Kiefer Trust provides annual scholarships for “deserving students in Essex and Hudson counties wishing to further their post-high school education,” whether at a trade school, two-year college or four-year university. Awards were given to applicants who demonstrated the strongest combination of academic achievement, community service, Girl Scout involvement, extracurricular participation and financial need.
“These young women are a shining example of the impact Girl Scouting has on a girl’s drive to succeed — not just in school, but in life,” Everlyn V. Tillery-Hay, a member of GSHNJ’s Kiefer Scholarship Review Committee, said. “Each of them has demonstrated remarkable initiative, resilience and commitment to their community. It was a true honor to read their stories.”
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.