September 25
Forty years ago, the North Shore Community College Foundation awarded two scholarships of $300 each. Today, its scholarship support totals nearly $6 million. At the Foundation’s September 24 Scholarship Award Celebration, students and donors came together to see what that support makes possible.
This year, 325 NSCC students received scholarships. About 70% of the recipients are first-generation college students, and roughly 75% work while attending college. Scholarships help with costs that can stand between students and their goals. Recipients have an average GPA of 3.3–exceeding that of the general student population (Fall 2026).
“Financial assistance will continue to be an essential tool for our students to fully maximize higher education and complete their goals,” said Lisa Kurzrok, president of the NSCC Foundation. “We envision a community where opportunity isn’t limited by circumstance, and where every student has the support they need to access education, complete their goals, and thrive.”
Scholarship awardees fast facts Academic Year 2026-2027: 90%* pursuing associate degrees;
3.3* average GPA; 69%* first-generation college students; 44% have community service
experience; 74% working while in school; 35* average credits completed; 325 number
of scholarship awardees; $375,000 total scholarship funds awarded; *Exceeds the NSCC
general student population (Fall 2026)
Engineering science student Zak Poretta gave donors a firsthand account of that impact. A recipient of the Helen and Thomas J. Zampell Scholarship and the Wanda Cormier Memorial Scholarship, Poretta spoke about the future he hopes to build.
“This scholarship award helps turn my dream into a career where I can one day give back to all the people who are supporting me,” he said.
From scholarship recipient to scholarship donor
Alumna Leanna DeMarco ’12 and ’15 knows what it means to receive that support—and to offer it. A 2014 scholarship recipient who later became a donor, she shared how an award eased her financial burden and why she chose to help other students in turn.
Laura Kurzrok, President, NSCC Foundation; Zak Poretta, scholarship recipient; Leanna DeMarco, past scholarship recipient and donor; and William Heineman, NSCC President
The celebration also honored the Monto family with the Traicoff Award, named for President Emeritus George Traicoff and presented annually in recognition of inspirational scholarship support.
Their story began with Mildred Monto Russo ’79, who came to NSCC as a single mother of four struggling to make ends meet. Scholarships helped her earn a nursing degree and support her family. In 1999, she established a scholarship for nursing students who are single parents. Her family continues that commitment through the Mildred Monto Russo Scholarship.
Watch the Monto family’s story:
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From Poretta’s ambition to Russo’s enduring gift, the celebration showed how a scholarship can help a student move forward—and how that student may one day open a door for someone else.