Yonkers IDA presents Parkledge Breakthrough Scholarship awards to 10 high school seniors

August 12, 2025 - Brokerage

Shown (from left, back row) are: IDA executive director Jaime McGill; deputy mayor Susan Gerry; schools superintendent Anibal Soler Jr;
mayor Mike Spano; city council majority whip Deana Norman; Parkledge representative Robert Gomara and William Williams.
Shown (from left, front row) are: Tyler Gordon, Vanessa Aguilar, Daphne Durane-Encarnacion, Willkania Sosa Diaz,
Leila Campbell, Emmanuellar Asiedu, Avril Salazar and Tennecia Nelson.

Yonkers, NY The Yonkers Industrial Development Agency (YIDA) has presented 10 Yonkers high school students with 2025 Parkledge Breakthrough Scholarship awards totaling $25,000. The awards were presented at City Hall on June 23^rd.

The high school seniors each won awards of $2,500. The awards are made to seniors who have been enrolled in a local school for all four years of high school. Applicants must be in good academic standing and accepted to a post-secondary institution that leads to a degree, license or certification. Awardees are required to have a recommendation from a member of the faculty who knows the student well. Applicants must also provide a personal statement concerning his/her future community service goals and how his/her education will contribute to these goals. The scholarship fund was created by the Parkledge Apartments.

The 2025 scholarship awardees are:

• Tyler Gordon – Riverside High School

• Emmanuellar Asiedu – Yonkers Montessori Academy

• Tennecia Nelson – Barack Obama School for Social Justice

• Leila Campbell – Yonkers High School

• Fani Arevalo – Roosevelt High School - Early College Studies

• Willkania Sosa-Diaz – Lincoln High School

• Daphne Durane-Encarnacion – Lincoln High School

• William Williams – Saunders Trades and Technical High School

• Vanessa Aguilar – Saunders Trades and Technical High School and

• Avril Salazar – Sacred Heart High School.