For over a decade the Poinciana Council of The Osceola Chamber has offered an annual scholarship to graduating high school seniors who live in the Poinciana area, which they have defined as anywhere within zip codes 34758, 34759, or 34746. This year, the Poinciana Council Board of Directors once again offered this scholarship opportunity to worthy graduating seniors living in those zip codes. For the second year in a row, students already enrolled in post-secondary institutions were also eligible to apply for funds so they might continue with their degree or certification program.
The Poinciana Council Scholarship is funded by contributions made to the Poinciana Council Scholarship Fund, incluing a generous one from HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital, and proceeds from events produced by the Poinciana Council Board of Directors. Thanks to an Osceola County Community Betterment Grant from District 3 Commissioner Brandon Arrington, the Council was able to match their collected funds in order to award four $1000 scholarships, plus add an additional $500 for each student resulting in scholarship awards totaling $1500 each for the second year in a row. Contributions to the scholarship fund may be made here.
After an application review process, the Poinciana Council Board chose three remarkable high school seniors from three different Osceola County School District schools and one student enrolled at Valencia College. The decision was based on extracurricular and volunteer activity, recommendation from the students’ teachers and advisors, and, most importantly, the students’ essay response to the prompt “As a young adult/professional in the Poinciana Community, please address the biggest challenges facing the community and ways that you can address those challenges considering your educational goals, life experiences, and any obstacles or hardships that you have overcome.”
This year’s Poinciana Council Scholarship Award winners were Paulina Diaz of Poinciana High School, who identified a gap in opportunities for those with learning and language disadvantages; Isabela Lopez-Vayas from Gateway High School, who lamented a lack of education about school choice and learning opportunities for rising freshmen; Ethan Ortiz Valencia from Osceola High School, who is dedicated to promoting healthy living in the community; and Bryan Ramjattan from Valencia College, who plans to use his IT education to find solutions to traffic troubles in communities like Poinciana.
On Tuesday, April 22 the Poinciana Council Board of Directors celebrated these amazing students at the annual Poinciana Council Scholarship Awards Luncheon held at Poinciana High School. Lunch was catered, as it is every year, by the Poinciana High School culinary students under the instruction of Chef Juan Alamo. This year's 3-course menu included roasted chicken and lemon cake. The lunch was generously sponsored by AdventHealth. 2025 Poinciana Council Board Chair Bianca Belabre, owner of A Creative Station, hosted the luncheon and each student was introduced by their school advisor before reading their award-winning essays.
Keynote speakers Osceola County Commissioner Brandon Arrington and Osceola School Board member Anthony Cook, both of whom represent the Poinciana area, encouraged the students to take full advantage of the opportunities ahead of them, including the less obvious ones. Both men spoke of their Osceola County education that led them to their positions today.
Additional sponsors of the lunch were The Poinsette Foundation, Valencia College, and Suncoast Credit Union.
Christina was raised in St. Cloud and holds degrees from the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida. She joined the Chamber in April 2015. As Director of Administration, she manages the Area Council’s events, sub-committee meetings, projects, and board engagements.
