Tandem Senior Receives Emily Couric Leadership Forum Scholarship Award

We’re proud to share that Tandem Friends senior Jenk Lancheros, this year's Tandem Friends School finalist for The Emily Couric Leadership Scholarship Award, this week was awarded an $18,000 scholarship from The Emily Couric Leadership Forum. The eleven local leadership award finalists (one from each local high school) were honored in person on April 30 at the annual awards luncheon. Tandem staff Whitney Thompson, Russell Combs, Tucker Winter, and Heidi Passino attended the luncheon along with Jenk and her family. Also in attendance were Katie Couric (sister of Emily Couric) and Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent for the PBS Newshour (2024 Women's Leadership Award winner).

Jenk came to Tandem in 8th grade and has consistently shown herself to be a person who leads with courage, stands up to injustice, and always puts the needs of others first. Jenk is particularly interested in issues related to mental health services and access. She plans to study psychology and become a psychiatrist, then travel to South American countries to promote access to mental health services. Congratulations, Jenk!

Check out some NBC 29 coverage of the scholarship luncheon here. Learn more about each nominee here. 

The Emily Couric Leadership Forum "established the Emily Couric Leadership Scholarship to be awarded annually to a senior girl attending any high school in Charlottesville or Albemarle. The goal is to acknowledge and encourage young women in leadership roles in government and the community. Each school is asked to nominate a senior girl who demonstrates leadership in her school and the community. A selection committee comprised of community leaders interviews the nominees and makes the final selection."

The Emily Couric Leadership Forum itself honors the memory of State Senator Emily Couric, who modeled a strong commitment to learning and service. Her many contributions to the community encouraged all women to "adopt an active role in government, public issues, and policy debates affecting their communities, and to inspire young women to pursue activities which will enable them to become effective leaders." The group has awarded over $1.75M to young women since the scholarships began in 2001, and awarded $250,000 for this year.