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Joshua J Scott Merit Scholarship Winners

In addition to the Leadership Scholarship winner, the Emily Couric Leadership Forum’s Selection Committee has discretion to recognize one of the nominees with a merit scholarship. A $38,000 scholarship will be awarded this year. The Selection Committee, comprised of community leaders, makes the awards after an application process and personal interviews with the nominees.

The Board recently named our Merit Award in memory of the late Joshua J. Scott, a beloved member of our community who worked with Senator Couric and served for many years on the interview and selection panel for our scholarships, where he was a tireless advocate for offering a merit award.

Here are the merit award winners.

2025 Joshua J. Scott Merit Award Winner

Seenam “Seesee” Dumor

Sonia Kamath, St. Anne’s-Belfield School
Daughter of Vanessa Gregg & Wesley Adams and Susannah & Prakash Kamath

Seesee is an empathic and driven women dedicated to making a difference in her community and in the world. Her grandmother inspired her love for education and helping others. Her experiences with Ghana have made her aware of inequities and how they affect the lives of women. She sees the importance of teaching difficult history to “reflect on the past mistakes and impact the future. But she was also deeply affected by being the only person of color watching the film, “Twelve Years A Slave” in a class. She spoke with the teacher and helped create a council to advise on media use. She saw a need for more awareness about DEI and how it can be used effectively. She formed the Black Student Union at her school and helped create the first Black Business Expo and a Mental Health Day.

Meet the rest of the 2025 finalists here.