Oceanside High School students receive Memorial College scholarship

Oceanside High school seniors Chamille Malcolm and Jasmyn Peralta were each awarded scholarships towards their college education by the Say Their Names Association on June 13. Founded in 2020 in the wake of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the Say Their Names Association provides scholarships to black high school students to support their endeavors in higher education.

Since 2020 the organization has expanded its reach from just Oceanside to a total of 18 districts. This year they received 40 applications and were able to give away scholarships to 20 students. The Say Their Names Association looks for students who take initiative to make positive change in their communities, demonstrating that they understand the responsibility of making change falls on us all.

“A lot of turmoil was going on at that time, racially. A lot of turmoil when George Floyd was murdered, and I just felt that I wanted to do something to help,” Thomas Capone, one of the founding members of Say Their names said. Capone retired from his position as principal of Oceanside school six in 2018, and since 2020 has been working to grow the scholarship program with the other trustees of the association. In the first year of the program’s life, they were able to give away 10 scholarships, 12 the following year, then 18, and now in 2024 they could afford to award 20 students across Long Island with scholarships. .

“When the (recipients) are announced, their classmates erupt in applause. It’s quite an emotional type of thing, where the kids receive these scholarships in front of their parents and their teachers as well as their classmates,” Capone said.

Oceanside High School senior Jasmyn Peralta has been involved in many activities during her time in school. She manages the social media for both the boys’ varsity lacrosse and football teams, and is a member of the Key Club, a community-service-based organization in the high school that helps to fund raise in the local community. In addition to a rigorous academic course load, she is also a part of three honor societies in Oceanside High School. On top of that, she maintains a 35-hour per week job in order to help her family. In the Fall she plans to attend Syracuse University.

“I was honestly so honored when I got the notification that I got the award,” Peralta said. “I was thrilled because it was the last scholarship that I applied for and I felt like I’d applied a little too late. I feel like everybody should put themselves out there. They shouldn’t just stay home, even if you think that it’s not going to work out, it doesn’t hurt to try sometimes.”

Chamille Malcolm, a senior at Valley Stream North High School is also extremely accomplished in her own right. Described by her peers as perceptive, thoughtful, hardworking, and always willing to lend a hand, Chamille is president of the Black Student Union, and is a member of her school’s Tri-M Music Honor Society and Honor Society. She is a member of art club, ecology club, and performs in Valley Stream North’s chamber orchestra, jazz band, chamber choir, and treble choir. In the fall Chamille will be attending University at Albany.

“I’m pretty honored,” Malcolm said. “I’m really grateful that my guidance counselor chose me to apply for this scholarship. I’m even more grateful that I was chosen to receive the scholarship at all.”