Three Area College Students Receive Harry H. Cabell Awards

Three students at local colleges won Harry H. Cabell Scholarship Awards this year from the Rotary Club of Bryn Mawr.

In 1983, Rotarian Harry H. Cabell and his wife Gertrude, of Belgium accompanied their daughter Mariandl to Bryn Mawr so she could attend Bryn Mawr College.

When Harry developed cancer of the vocal cord, he returned to Belgium with Gertrude, and hoped that the Rotary Club of Bryn Mawr would help care for Mariandl. The club did just that, and Harry recovered from the cancer, according to a pamphlet detailing the history of the awards.

To express his gratitude, Harry created and funded a scholarship in 1985 for international students studying at nearby American colleges, according to the pamphlet. In 1986, the scholarship opened to all students.

The $2,000 scholarships are awarded based on the student’s financial need, high academic standards, leadership and service.

This year’s recipients are J. Nicole Phinney, a student at Cabrini College, Waynetta Faust, a student at Rosemont College, and Ariel Kay, a student at Bryn Mawr College.

At a meeting of the Rotary Club of Bryn Mawr last month, Phinney said that when she was growing up she volunteered with her mom at homeless shelters, and in college she became interested in the somewhat controversial prison industry.

Phinney, who is a junior at Cabrini College, is studying sociology, criminology and psychology, and said that daughters of inmates are often thrown into foster homes.

Phinney said she became involved at The Wolfington Center at Cabrini College, and volunteers with the “Go M.A.D. (Make a Difference)” and “Teen Motivators” programs. Through Teen Motivators, Phinney said she tutors students and inspires them to go to high school.

“We appreciate it. We’re very proud of her,” Phinney’s father said at the meeting. “Everything has been about other people.”

He said that when Phinney and her sister were young, he would ask them what they would do with pennies they saved. Nicole’s sister Elizabeth would detail which kinds of penny candy she would buy, and Nicole would respond by saying she’d save it up and give it to the poor.

Rosemont College junior Waynetta Faust said she took a trip last May to Tanzania to volunteer and wasn’t sure what to expect.

When she arrived, Faust said there were airports and shopping malls and movie theaters, and then when they got to where they were going to stay, it was much more rural.

Faust said the students were eager to see them, and they knew English, French, Swahili, and knew about trigonometry, our government, their government, and how to jump rope.

“We were only assigned to help them with grammar,” Faust said. “We also taught them poetry and how to create a resume. There were a lot of things they were so curious about.”

Faust said she also volunteered with the Upward Bound program at Harcum College for high school students. She said she was shocked to see some of their difficulties with preparing an essay or constructing sentences.

“Students in Africa were excelling,” Faust said, “and Philadelphia-area students were struggling.”

Faust said she is interested in participating in Teach for America and Let’s Get Ready programs.

At Rosemont College, Faust said she serves as student body president and class president, and is running for student government association next semester.

Kay is studying abroad and was not at the meeting.

“I cried when I got the email,” Phinney said. “It really means a lot.”