The Alicia Betancourt Prize for Excellence in the Arts

History

The Alicia Betancourt Prize for excellence in the Arts was created from the Scholarship fund founded in 2004 by Arturo Betancourt and Lulu Delacre in memory of their 16 year old daughter after she died as a passenger in a car.

Initially established as a $4,000 scholarship to be awarded for sixteen consecutive years, the prize is now a scholarship greater than $5,000 distributed over the course of 4 years. The value of the scholarship may continue to increase for the first-place winner; the first runner-up will receive a single award of $1,000 and the second runner-up will receive one of $500.

The first prize was awarded in Spring 2006 and the scholarship will continue to be awarded through 2022.

Candidate's profile

The candidate should be a female senior at James Hubert Blake High School with a strong interest in the visual arts and/or dance.

She should have an excellent work ethic, strong academics, and a GPA of 3.5 un weighted and/or 4.0 weighted. She should be a kind, well-rounded person committed to community service and have a clean driving record.

Once in college the recipient must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 and a clean driving record. The scholarship will not be renewed if the student quits college. It will be suspended if the student takes time off from college and will continue once she is back in school.

Application

Click here to get an Application

Anyone is interested in contribute to the scholarship, checks should be made to James Hubert Blake High School

Board

- Arturo E. Betancourt
-Lulu Delacre
-Veronica Betancourt

Selection committee

-Kevin Keegan, Journalism Teacher, Chair
-Deena T. Barlow, English Teacher
-Danielle D'Anna, Dance Teacher
-Sara Hartenstine, Art Teacher
-Donna Iriarte, Dance Teacher
-Susan B. Knott, Art Teacher
-John Overman, Art Teacher

Committee members may change from year to year

Previous Winners:

2006
Emily Toy, winner
Hannah Sohn, first runner-up
Allison Williams, second runner-up

2007
Hannah Wides, winner
Allison Ostrow, first runner-up
Marianne Goris, second runner-up

2008
Layla Lynn, winner
Jacqueline Richard, first runner-up
Kara Rose, second runner-up

2009
Elizabeth Gipson, winner
Claire DeMarco, first runner-up
Chelsea DeBernardis, second runner-up

2010
Ashley Haymaker, winner
Kelly Lehman, first runner-up
Zoë Ligon, second runner-up

2011
Connie Dai, winner
Amy Gottlieb, first runner-up
Kira Williams, second runner-up

Click here to read about Alicia Bentacourt