Record-Breaking $700K in Scholarships Awarded to Alexandria City High School Seniors
Scholarship Fund of Alexandria Marks 40 Years of Changing Lives with Largest First-Year Awards Ever
Alexandria, VA – The Scholarship Fund of Alexandria (SFA) awarded nearly $700,000 in postsecondary scholarships to 215 seniors from Alexandria City High School’s Class of 2025—the largest first-year total in the nonprofit’s nearly 40-year history. Most of these students will continue to receive support for up to four years, bringing the total scholarship value to $2.5 million.
Of this year’s recipients, nearly 70% will be the first in their families to attend college in the U.S., and 98.7% qualified for need-based scholarships, further underscoring the impact of this support.
The SFA’s 2025 Awards Ceremony brought students and community donors together on stage for a heartfelt celebration. Among the scholarships presented were the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria’s 2025 Award and the inaugural 40th Anniversary Scholarship—a newly permanent award recently increased from $3,000 to $5,000 per year over four years.
“These scholarships are not funded by a sole individual or group but by general donations to the SFA,” said SFA Board Chair Kevin Jahns. “If you’ve attended an SFA event, bought a car raffle ticket, honored a teacher, or donated through payroll deductions as ACPS faculty or staff—you helped make this happen.”
SFA Executive Director Jasmine Milone reflected on the ceremony’s impact:
“This event is very inspiring and uplifting. There are so many incredibly bright and hardworking students at Alexandria City High School. It’s a privilege to see them launch, thrive, and succeed. Our community is generous and compassionate—they believe scholarships change lives, not just for the recipient, but for their entire family.”
Essey T., recipient of the Alexander Duncan Scholarship, and the first of his siblings to attend college, spoke on behalf of the Class of 2025. Heading to Tufts University to study chemical engineering, he shared heartfelt reflections:
“Knowing that my siblings are watching pushes me to be better… I want to teach them to dream big, bigger, and bigger. So that maybe they’ll believe in their own dreams and pass that belief on to someone else one day.”
The SFA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization providing scholarships and financial aid advising to Alexandria City Public School students. Since 1986, the SFA has awarded more than $20 million in scholarships, making college dreams come true for over 5900 students. For more information, or to get involved, visit alexscholarshipfund.org.
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