Moravian College announces scholarship to Freedom, Liberty first-gen students
Damian Almonte never questioned his desire to attend Moravian College. Both his influential music teachers in the Bethlehem Area School District had graduated from there, and he wanted to become teachers like them, at the place they did.
Having been raised by his grandmother, he did question how he would pay for it.
Just before the pandemic closed Pennsylvania schools, guidance counselors called Almonte to the principal’s office at Freedom High School, where he was a senior, and at Liberty High School they summoned senior Amanda Dougherty. The two soon-tobe first-generation college students were told they had made the second round of interviews for a full scholarship to Moravian.
It was a trick: In each case, Bethlehem Area Superintendent Joseph Roy welcomed them with applause and told them they were the winners of the Superintendent’s Scholarship.
“It literally was life changing,” Almonte said. “It is literally the answer.” Dougherty said she cried.
Since 2016, Moravian has awarded two Bethlehem Area School District students full scholarships, minus room and board, chosen by a panel with representatives from their high schools and Moravian. Students must submit an essay in their application. All scholarship winners chosen since 2016 have been first-generation college students.
During high school, Almonte, who earned a 3.5 GPA, was president of the Gender Sexuality Alliance and student director of the Freedom High School Patriot Choir. He plans to major in secondary education.
Dougherty wants to pursue a career in nutrition. She achieved a 4.0 GPA, was an accompanist for Liberty’s choir and a cheerleader for a community squad.
“We’re confident they’ll follow in the footsteps of the scholarship’s previous winners and have a great experience at Moravian and not only excel academically, but get involved in campus and life and make their mark on the community,” Moravian President Bryon Grigsby said in a statement.
Roy also predicted that both students will be successful at Moravian.
“Damian and Amanda will, in turn, quickly become valuable members of the Moravian community,” he said.
Call it coincidence or fate, but the two had planned to do so, one way or another. Almonte was hedging his bets on the scholarship since hearing about it sophomore year — he didn’t apply to any other schools — but would have routed his college path through Northampton Community College otherwise. Dougherty was counting on a lesser merit scholarship and taking out many student loans.
Their stories won the day. In her essay, Dougherty wrote about pouring her heart into teaching herself piano as an escape from hardships at home, including divorce and financial struggle. She and her three siblings started working from an early age to help pay the bills.
Almonte wrote about his efforts to address bullying and hate speech toward people of color and members of the LGBTQ community in his high school. He and another member of the GSA sparked conversation with the school’s assistant principal to share these student experiences and move toward constructive solutions, which included faculty assemblies and inservice days focused on tolerance. These conversations progressed toward the superintendent’s office this year, and they were planning tolerance presentations at other schools, until the pandemic halted progress.
He wants to study and eventually teach history because he believes he can make it an engaging subject for students. Dougherty wants to become a nutritionist to help people like her mother, who has celiac disease.
Both are teaching themselves the college process. Almonte said his grandmother was a model for the drive it takes to do so.
“She taught me how to keep it going,” he said. “At some point, you’ll reach a time you can relax.”
Morning Call reporter Jacqueline Palochko can be reached at 610-820-6613 or at jpalochko@mcall.com.