Six Delaware County Community College Students Named to All-Pennsylvania Academic Team
(Delaware and Chester Counties, PA - April 5, 2023)—Six Delaware County Community College students—the most in the College’s history—have been recognized as part of the All-Pennsylvania Academic Team for their academic achievement, leadership and community service.
Raven Amaro of Media, Steven Feeney of Toughkenamon, Megan Grant of Darby, Amber Riley of Exton, Maeve Salla of Drexel Hill and Ariel Whaley of West Chester were recently selected to the 2022-2023 All-Pennsylvania (All-PA) Academic Team, which is sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges, and the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges. This recognition honors an exceptional group of community college students. The students were recognized at a special banquet on March 28, 2023 in Harrisburg attended by Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis.
The College had four Transfer Pathway honorees and two Workforce Pathway honorees. Transfer Pathway honorees will receive a full-tuition scholarship for two years to one of the ten universities that make up the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. They must have completed at least 36 credits at a community college with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. Workforce Pathway honorees plan to enter the workforce after completing a certificate or associate degree at a community college. They must have a minimum of 12 college-level credit hours at a community college and a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.
“These six students truly represent the value of the community college experience,” said Delaware County Community College President Dr. L. Joy Gates Black. “They demonstrate not only a high level of academic achievement, but a true calling to serve their fellow students and local communities.”
Raven Amaro of Media
A first-generation college student, Amaro is a co-executive producer at the College’s New Media Lab, a student organization that produces original podcasts. She aspires to enter the animation industry, in either storyboarding or production and will receive her Associate in Fine Arts, Studio Arts degree in May 2023. Amaro is the recording officer of the College’s Phi Theta Kappa honor society’s Alpha Tau Epsilon, Delaware County chapter.
Steven Feeney of Toughkenamon
Feeney is a Communication Arts major and first-generation college student who is working full-time while going to school full-time. “The challenge of balancing competing priorities and making everyone proud has been my motivation to push through the long nights of studying and working,” he says. “I would eventually like to become a professor at a community college so I can help students like me who are non-traditional, to have access and the means to follow their dreams.” Feeney shared that if it were not for the opportunities that the College provided for non-traditional students like himself, he would not have had the ability to pursue his educational and career goals. He is currently president of the College’s Phi Theta Kappa, Beta Psi Pi Chester County chapter, and has done volunteer work with a local animal rescue. Feeney received a 2022 Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholars $1,000 scholarship.
Megan Grant of Darby
Grant is a Communication Arts major who hopes to one day become a marketing manager or public relations executive. “My family is my main motivator,” she says. “As a first-generation college student, it is understood that my job after university will be used to provide additional help to my family. I have learned that hard work as well as putting myself out there will propel me into my field of study.” She is president of the College’s Phi Theta Kappa honor society’s Alpha Tau Epsilon, Delaware County chapter.
Amber Riley of Exton
Raised by a single parent who is both a Delaware County Community College and Villanova University graduate, Riley is majoring in Science for Health Professions. After completing her bachelor’s degree in public health, she intends to pursue a master’s degree in a related field. “My professional aspiration is to work in the healthcare industry and help individuals either directly or indirectly,” she says. “I may accomplish this by offering a direct service or by working behind the scenes in the area of healthcare data analysis.” Riley is vice president of scholarship for the College’s Phi Theta Kappa honor society’s Beta Psi Pi, Chester County chapter, for which she also holds a work-study position as an administrative assistant and participates in and facilitates community service for Honors in Action and College-wide projects. Riley received a 2022 Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholars $1,000 scholarship.
Maeve Salla of Drexel Hill
Salla is a mother of three, a first-generation college student and a leader of a Girl Scout Troop for seventh and eighth grade girls in her hometown. She is majoring in Communication Arts and plans to enter the workforce upon her graduation in May 2023. As a Student Resource Center peer mentor, she mentors first-year students and helps them become engaged with campus life. She is vice president of scholarship for the College’s Phi Theta Kappa, Alpha Tau Epsilon, Delaware County chapter.
Ariel Whaley of West Chester
Whaley is passionate about pursuing a career in environmental education and would like to help ensure that it will someday be a requirement in public school curriculums. “I would like to be able to connect communities with the land they live on to ensure its conservation for future generations” She enjoys tutoring children for the nonprofit organization called Mighty Writers, a bilingual program specifically tailored for Spanish-speaking students. A Science for Health Professions major, Whaley is a member of the College’s Phi Theta Kappa, Alpha Tau Epsilon Delaware County Chapter.
Photo caption: College President Dr. L. Joy Gates Black congratulate Delaware County Community College’s All-Pennsylvania Academic Team awardees. L to R: Steven Feeney, Amber Riley, Dr. L. Joy Gates Black, Maeve Salla, Raven Amaro and Ariel Whaley. Not pictured: Megan Grant.
