Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. hosts a news conference on city scholarships Monday with, from left, principal community organizational specialist Pamela Thomas-Fields, Director of Youth Services Christina Noble, Assistant Director of Youth Services Tasha Devonish and 2023 scholarship recipient Ciani Redd-Howard.
ATLANTIC CITY — Atlantic City High School standout basketball player Ciani Redd-Howard went to Penn State University and got a degree in kinesiology, then came home to work in the city’s Health and Human Services Department.
She was one of about 100 students to receive a $10,000 city scholarship in 2023, the first year of the Mayor Marty Small Sr. Scholarship funded by money from the American Rescue Plan, a federal COVID-19 relief package for local governments.
“Everyone that has the opportunity to do the scholarship, you should,” said Redd-Howard, now of Mays Landing, at a news conference Monday to announce that applications are open for year three of the program.
“It’s free money, and you won’t have to worry about scrounging up change to go to college and do your best,” she said.
The 23-year-old plans to apply for another scholarship to go to graduate school and get an advanced degree in biomechanics.
There are changes in how the program is run this year, Small said.
“For the first two years it was kept strictly to Atlantic City High School students who lived in Atlantic City or college students from Atlantic City who graduated from ACHS,” Small said. “This year we decided to open it up to everyone in Atlantic City, whether you go to Holy Spirit … or St. Augustine or any other school but live in Atlantic City.”
American Rescue Plan funding ends this year, so the administration has to find a new source for the $1 million a year if it wants to keep the scholarship going.
The first recipients of the Atlantic City “Mayor Marty Small Sr. Scholarship” received their $10,000 checks in a ceremony Wednesday at City Hall.
“We are exploring opportunities, different opportunities and conversations are being had to expand this beyond this year,” Small said. “It’s in our best interest to keep this going. … It is addressing the educational disparities.”
Small said he will consider using money from the city’s general fund if other sources are not found.
Applications must be completed and delivered to the city in a paper packet or via email by 4 p.m. April 7, said Tasha Devonish, assistant director of youth services for the city, who is part of the scholarship committee that selects recipients.
“When you do your essay … we want to read the authenticity from you. We don’t want to read AI,” Devonish said.
Applications must also include a resume outlining experience such as work or club participation, the latest transcript and two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a teacher.
“Complete the application. We cannot stress it enough, because we get hundreds of applications and we go through a checklist for every applicant,” Devonish said. “The moment we see something missing, your application goes into the disqualified pile. We will not reach out to tell you what you are missing. It is your responsibility.”
The Atlantic City High School guidance department will help with applications, said student counselors Chaia Jennings and Shaline Browne.
“We have resources available in the building,” Jennings said of scanners and other technology needed to prepare the application.
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Of the residents awarded scholarships last year, 45 were seniors at Atlantic City High School who graduated and planned to attend college in the fall. Another 45 were residents who graduated from Atlantic City High School and would be college sophomores, juniors or seniors in the fall.
Another eight scholarships were awarded to residents who graduated from the city’s high school and were pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree.
Half of the $10,000 scholarships is distributed for the students’ fall semester, while the other half covers the spring.
Funds are paid directly to the schools, so if a student’s balance is less than $5,000 per semester, the unspent funds go back into the scholarship program for use by others, Small said.
“Everyone gets an opportunity,” Small said. “We have a very competent and capable committee made up of people from the school district, some from the city, some from the community making these decisions, and it’s not me.”
He urged locals to get a good education and come back to help their hometown improve.
“Don’t take your talents anywhere else. That’s my challenge to each and every kid applying,” Small said.
Redd-Howard sent Small a handwritten thank-you card after receiving her scholarship in 2023, he said, and he has kept it propped up on his desk.
“She talked about wanting to come back home, but if there’s nothing to come home to …” Small said. “Now she is working in the homeless team and doing an amazing job.”
REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post
609-841-2895
mpost@pressofac.com
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Atlantic City High School graduate and former scholarship recipient Ciani Redd-Howard at a press conference at City Hall March 10, 2025.
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Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. hosts a news conference on city scholarships Monday with, from left, principal community organizational specialist Pamela Thomas-Fields, Director of Youth Services Christina Noble, Assistant Director of Youth Services Tasha Devonish and 2023 scholarship recipient Ciani Redd-Howard.
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