BALTIMORE, May 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Comcast Foundation today announced the 2017 recipients of its annual Leaders and Achievers(® )Scholarship Program awards in Maryland. The program, funded by the Comcast Foundation, recognizes the best and brightest high school seniors for their community service, academic performance and leadership skills.

"I would like to congratulate these remarkable students who are dedicated to creating a positive impact in their communities and who strive to reach their fullest potential," said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. "With this support from partners in the business community, these students will have the opportunity to continue their education and develop into exemplary leaders of tomorrow."

Comcast, joined by Dr. Carol Williamson, Deputy Superintendent, Office of Teaching and Learning at the Maryland State Department; Maryland House Speaker, Michael E. Busch; and other local elected officials and school administrators, recognized the students at a special event held Wednesday, May 10, at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis. One hundred and nine recipients of the 2017 Maryland Leaders and Achievers(® )scholarships received $1,000. Cienna Bell, a senior at Bowie High School in was awarded a $10,000 Comcast Founders Scholarship - instituted in honor of Ralph J. Roberts, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Comcast Corporation - for a total of $119,000 awarded this year to Maryland high school students.

"Our Leaders and Achievers Scholarship winners are committed to academic excellence and community service," said Mary McLaughlin, Senior Vice President of Comcast's Beltway Region. "We are honored to recognize their achievements, and are excited to support them as they continue their educational journeys."

The Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program provides scholarships to students who strive to achieve their full potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students. The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to prepare for the future and to engage them in their communities. The program also demonstrates the importance of civic involvement, and the value placed on civic involvement by the business community.

Since 2009, Comcast has awarded nearly $825,000 in Leaders & Achievers Scholarships to more than 750 students in Maryland. This year, the program will award more than $2 million in scholarships to more than 2,000 students across the country to help them pursue higher education. Visit here to learn more.

2017 Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Recipients from Maryland

Anne Arundel County
Olivia Bailey of Chesapeake High School in Pasadena
Savannah Edmonds of Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn
Allison Gingerich of Broadneck High School in Annapolis
Scott Howarth of Arundel High School in Gambrills
Cameron Laque of North County High School in Glen Burnie
Hiro Motta of Glen Burnie High School
Ian Robertson of Annapolis High School
Kealsey Sajol of Old Mill High School in Millersville

Baltimore City
Tabitha Blackston of Merganthaler Vocational-Technical High School
Jenae Burrell of Reginald F. Lewis High School
Kayla Carr of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Michael Cheng of Gilman School
Kayla Demeritte of Coppin Academy High School
Anthony Evans of Edmondson-Westside High School
Lauren Fink of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Tselani Huntley of Baltimore Renaissance Academy
Sheila Mcmorris of Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy
Ifetayo Jabari-Kitwala of Baltimore School for the Arts
David Medlin of Forest Park Senior High
Jamie Mintz of Benjamin Franklin High School at Masonville Cove
Jonah Myers of Greater Grace Christian Academy
Patrice Newsome of National Academy Foundation High School
Morgan Pettus of Frederick Douglass High School
Shemar Shields of Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts High School
Abeni Teal of Mercy High School
Bria Thomas of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School
Yarnee Whitaker of The REACH! Partnership School

Baltimore County
Vasiliki Argeroplos of Garrison Forest School in Owings Mills
Mya Buschman of Maryvale Preparatory School in Lutherville
Annalea Cascio of Parkville High School
Natassia Celnik of St. Timothy's School in Stevenson
Trinadee Coates of Randallstown High School
Patrick Fuller of Perry Hall High School
Benjamin Glaser of Western School of Technology
Moshe Gordon of Israel Henry Beren High School in Pikesville
Abigail Hauer of Eastern Tech High School
Rachel Krakat of Concordia Preparatory School in Towson
Emily Lane of Loch Raven High School
Satia Longe of Patapsco High School
Alyse Messafi of Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School
Annalise Michaelson of McDonogh School in Owings Mills
Michael Millin of Jemicy School in Owings Mills
Rebecca Olusola of New Town High School in Owings Mills
Justin Perkins of Owings Mills High School
Jamie Van Wyk of Pikesville High SchoolCailyn Walter of Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson

Calvert County
Kristen Almuete of Calvert High School in Prince Frederick
Armani Claggett of Patuxent High School in Lusby

Carroll County
Adam Fairchild of Manchester Valley High School
Yuchen Luo of Carroll Christian Schools in Westminster
Madison Storm of Westminster Senior High School

Charles County
De'John Broadwater of Thomas Stone High School in Waldorf
Taylor Covington of Maurice J. McDonough High School in Pomfret
Lindsey Johnson of North Point High School for Science, Technology & Industry in Waldorf
Niki Kelley of St. Charles High School in Waldorf
Andrei Maderazo of Westlake High School in Waldorf
Zachary McDonough of Southern Maryland Christian Academy in White Plains
Riley Weinberg of La Plata High School

Frederick County
Brooke Bennett of Frederick County Career & Technology Center
Catharine Dietrich of Linganore High School
Gabriella Farrell of Frederick High School
Miriam Tirado of Governor Thomas Johnson High School

Harford County
Ryan Brownfield of C. Milton Wright High School in Bel Air
Sara Decker of Aberdeen High School
Bethany Ingram of Bel Air High School
Marissa Smith of Havre De Grace High School

Howard County
Marcus Anderson of Hammond High School in Columbia
Samuel Chan of La Salle Homeschool Academy
Mikayla Dixon of Wilde Lake High School in Columbia
Vanneshja Hill-Edwards of Atholton High School in Columbia

Xiao Kuang of Long Reach High School in Columbia
Claire Lee of Centennial High School in Ellicott City
Yizuan Liu of Marriotts Ridge High School in Marriottsville
Aaron Luther of Mt. Hebron High School in Ellicott City
Cire Nicholson of Oakland Mills High School in Columbia
Jennifer Zhang of River Hill High School in Clarksville

Montgomery County
Jimmy Allah-Mensah of Northwest High School in Germantown
Nicole Averinos of Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg
Boaz Bamiro of Gaithersburg High School
Autumn Barber of Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville
Rudaelle Elien of Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring
Anurudh Ganesan of Clarksburg High School
Liam Gil of Wheaton High School in Silver Spring
Michael Katski of Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville
Nina Lao of Seneca Valley High School in Germantown
Flosha Diliena Liyana Saran Arachchige Don of Col. Zadok Magruder High School in Rockville
Rose Makor of Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring
Taylor McDaniels of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney
Wendy Medrano of Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park
Matthew Millstein of James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring
Natalie Mogrovejo of Thomas Edison High School of Technology in Silver Spring
Elizabeth Olaiya of Northwood High School in Silver Spring
Jacob Rains of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda
Brandon Rodriguez of Watkins Mill High School in Gaithersburg

Prince George's County
Akehnji AchiriMofor of Laurel High School
Cieanna Bell of Bowie High School
Juwan Blocker of Parkdale High School in Riverdale
Trevante Brown of Oxon Hill High School
Gexi Chavez Bonilla of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt
Taylor Custis of Grace Brethren Christian School in Clinton
Erin Farley of Bishop Mcnamara High School in Forestville
Skylar Johnson of St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel
Bedelina Miller of New Hope Academy in Landover Hills
Samuel Morgan of From the Heart Christian School in Suitland
Andrea Nickens of Crossland High School in Temple Hills
Maya Sullivan of Elizebeth Seton High School in Bladensburg
Tatyanna Sutton of Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro
Carlotta Tyler of Progressive Learning Academy

Wicomico County
Jason Hentschel of James M. Bennett Senior High School in Salisbury
Onya Turner of Wicomico High School in Salisbury

About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed internet, and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the XFINITY brand. NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

About the Comcast Foundation
The Comcast Foundation was founded by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified non-profit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities. The Foundation has three community investment priorities--promoting service, expanding digital literacy, and building tomorrow's leaders. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated nearly $200 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/community.

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