Young women of St. John who are enrolled in college or plan to attend this fall are invited to apply for the Ruby Rutnik Scholarship, which offers awards of up to $5,000, a press release announced.
Female students from St. John who are already attending college are also eligible to apply for the scholarship.
The fund was established in honor of Ruby Rutnik, a senior at American University who died in a car accident in 1996, according to the press release.
In 1997, friends and family launched an annual tri-island softball tournament for female high school students across the Virgin Islands to support the scholarship. The effort has awarded more than $200,000 to over three dozen recipients, the press release stated.
In 2014, the Rutnik family ended the tournament and created an endowment through Gifft Hill School on St. John using the funds raised. Ruby was among the original preschool students when the school was founded as Pine Peace School in 1978, the release stated.
The scholarship is intended to help offset the cost of higher education, particularly for students attending colleges and universities off-island, the release stated.
Applications are available through school counselors, by emailing Janet Cook-Rutnik at cookrutnik@gmail.com, or by calling 340-693-8069. On St. John, applications may also be picked up at Pelican’s Post in Cruz Bay.
The deadline to apply is May 11. Applicants will be notified on or before May 26.
Donations to the scholarship fund may be made payable to Gifft Hill School, with RRSF noted on the check, and mailed to GHS, 5000 Estate Enighed #356, St. John, VI 00830.
Please use the following QR code to access the application online:
