2026 scholarship awards program

Submitted by Dr. Ann L. Gantt:

On Wednesday May 6, 2026, I had the honor and pleasure of presenting the DeVonte W. Gantt Memorial Scholarship at McCaskey East High School. This is also an emotional time for me. I carefully balance my words to both remember and honor DeVonte while also celebrating the award recipient. Something that I noted about DeVonte this year was that he dreamed of becoming a sports therapist. This year’s recipient was Elijah Samuel. Recipients are chosen by the J.P. McCaskey High School counselors based on the criteria established by me. These criteria include: 1) African American student with a GPA of 3.0 (or greater) and 2) seeking post-secondary education. The award amount was $1,000. Elijah will attend West Chester University to pursue a major in Economics and a minor in Finance. We wish all the best to Elijah (and all of the award recipients). (see Elijah’s picture by clicking the Recipients tab). A touching moment occurred at the completion of the program. A woman came up to me and shared her sentiments about DeVonte. She became teary as she told me that she had attended his celebration of life service. Gone but never forgotten. My son Michael (DeVonte’s uncle) graciously recorded my speech and added background music and content about DeVonte (below).