The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Educational Foundation will award 18 scholarships and awards, totaling over $2.3M, to more than 225 MCPS seniors representing every high school in MCPS at the Evening of Excellence ceremony on Wednesday, May 15. 

207 recipients of the Ruth and Norman Rales-Patricia Baier O’Neill Scholarship Recognizing Academic Excellence, the largest program, will receive $10,000 each. The scholarship is made possible by a generous donation from the Norman R. Rales and Ruth Rales Foundation. 

2024 is the inaugural awarding of the Gilles Driesman Scholarship; the Cesar Pie Cyber Defender Scholarship; and the Lamphier-Castelli New American Dream for the Future Scholarship.

WHAT: Evening of Excellence Ceremony recognizing the over 225 students receiving scholarships.  

WHERE: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD 20852 

WHEN: Wednesday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m.

SPEAKERS:

• Joshua Rales, President and Trustee of the Norman R. and Ruth Rales Foundation

• James R. O’Neill, Husband of Patricia Baier O’Neill and Counsel, Blankrome

• Keynote Speaker, Tameka Montgomery, Founder and CEO, Core Strategy Partners

• Dewanga Mayarata, Rockville High School

• Andrew Friedson, President, Montgomery County Council 

• Debbie Driesman, Daughter of Gilles Driesman

Speakers and a few of the scholarship recipients will be available for interviews following the program. Members of the media are asked to contact Aisha Mbowe Aisha_Mbowe@mcpsmd.org to RSVP for the event or to do a pre/post story on this effort.