Multiple $500 scholarships will be awarded before June 1, 2024 to exceptional high school seniors from the Greater Middlesex Conference who have overcome adversity (not limited to medical challenges), who strive for excellence academically and athletically, who have engaged in community service and who have been inspired by Marisa’s story to make a difference in the lives of others.

Who is Eligible

Any student-athlete who competed on the varsity level in a Greater Middlesex Conference sport and who meets the conditions of eligibility listed below.

Conditions of Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s Greater Middlesex Conference Student-Athlete Scholarship:

  • Must have overcome adversity (not limited to medical challenges)
  • Must be a college-bound senior or a senior planning to attend a vocational or trade school who resides in Middlesex County or attends a Middlesex County high school with a cumulative unweighted grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale
  • Must have competed on the varsity level in a Greater Middlesex Conference sport
  • Must strive for excellence in the classroom and on the field
  • Must have engaged in community service as a high school student
  • Must pursue aspirations with passion, integrity, character and respect for others

Mandatory Application Materials Checklist

Omission of any of the items listed below will make the applicant ineligible for the scholarship:

  1. Scholarship applicants are required to write an essay explaining in detail the adversity they overcame and why Marisa’s story inspires them to make a difference in the lives of others.
  2. Scholarship applicants are required to provide two letters of recommendation from non-relatives. One letter must be an academic reference. The other letter must be from a coach or athletics administrator. The letter writers must include their contact information (full name, affiliation, email address and phone number).
  3. Scholarship applicants must provide a resume detailing any community service in which they engaged as a high school student.
  4. Scholarship applicants must include their full name, high school, cumulative grade point average, phone number, email address and home address at the top of their essay.

Selection Process

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s scholarship selection committee will review all application materials and select the scholarship recipient.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation may publish, with the winner’s permission, certain general information including the winner’s name, educational background, community service and future educational plans.

Scholarship Conditions

Should the winner be a college-bound senior, the scholarship may be used only for tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Verification of college enrollment and proof of proper use of the funds will be required.

Should the winner be a senior planning to attend a vocational or trade school, the scholarship may only be used for tuition, fees, books and tools of the trade. Verification of enrollment in the vocational or trade school and proof of proper use of the funds will be required.

How to Apply

Please be sure to mail all of the items outlined in the mandatory application materials checklist to:

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation
P.O. Box 10625
New Brunswick, NJ 08906

All scholarship application materials must be postmarked by April 30, 2024.

All of the items listed on the mandatory application materials checklist must be mailed simultaneously in one envelope. Separate mailings of materials will disqualify scholarship applicants from consideration.