Wall of dreams

On Tuesday, June 7, Garden of Dreams hosted our 2022 Inspire Scholarship summer event at the FISHBOWL at Dream Midtown Hotel to honor this year’s recipients of the Garden of Dreams Inspire Scholarship.

Typically held on an annual basis, this year’s event had a special twist. Due to the pandemic, this was the first in-person meetup for our Inspire Scholars since 2019. Therefore, the event celebrated college graduates from 2020, 2021, and 2022 along with the 25 new recipients of the award. The new recipients included 13 high school seniors (who received $40,000 scholarships) and 12 first-year college students (who received $30,000 scholarships) for their college educations. The foundation was honored to be able to award scholarships to first-year college students who did not have the chance to apply for the award as high school seniors due to a pandemic-related pause to the program.

The evening started with over 60 Inspire Scholarship alumni and current students taking part in networking and icebreaker activities. Following the interactive activities, New York Rangers alumnus Brian Mullen was on hand to help honor the three graduating classes and surprise the college graduates with tablets and gift bags.

Class of 2020 Inspire Scholar, Josiah Darnell, who aspires to be a sports broadcaster, gave a motivational speech that was met with roaring cheers. Josiah then went on to announce the new class of Inspire Scholarship recipients, as they received a special surprise of their own.

Each recipient was handed a congratulatory certificate by Brian Mullen, a gift bag containing their school’s shirt, and not to mention the biggest surprise of them all, MacBook laptops! As the students’ faces filled with jubilation, the scholars huddled for a group photo sporting their school spirit.

A special thank you to all of the families and friends who accompanied our brilliant scholars throughout this wonderful evening. It was truly a night to remember. Also, we want to thank FISHBOWL for making this memorable event possible.

And finally, one last “congratulations” to all of our Inspire Scholars! We couldn’t be more proud of our young adults as they embark on their new journeys in their pursuit of higher education!