Joseph Taub Scholar Athlete Award

Applications for the Joseph Taub Scholar Athlete Awards will be available Monday, January 5, 2026.

The Kaplen Jewish Community Center on the Palisades
The Kaplen Jewish Community Center (JCC) on the Palisades, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Tenafly (NJ), is now accepting applications for its Annual Joseph Taub Scholar Athlete Awards Program. This application is open to all high school seniors who reside in Bergen County; you do not have to be a member of the JCC to win.

Joseph Taub Scholar Athlete Awards Program Overview
The Joseph Taub Scholar Athlete Awards Program honors student-athletes in their senior year who demonstrate exceptional academic ability and strong leadership skills in sports, their schools, and within their communities. Whether you’re the lead scorer or the most spirited team player, we want to hear how you have taken the skills you’ve cultivated in the locker room and used them to create a powerful, positive impact on the lives of others around you. Two JCC Scholar Athletes will each receive a $10,000 college scholarship. The scholarship awards are made possible by The Joseph and Arlene Taub Foundation in memory of Joseph Taub^z”l.

JUDGING CRITERIA

Embody good sportsmanship and strong moral character.
Scholar Athletes are trusted and respected members of their schools and communities. They have built strong relationships with and will leave a lasting impact on other students, administrators, and community members.

• Be passionate and committed to empowering the community in which they live. Scholar Athletes have made a significant long-term commitment to improving the lives of others.
• Be a confident and enthusiastic leader.
  Scholar Athletes are role models. They are poised, honest, and passionate leaders who take on challenges for the greater good.
• Display academic excellence.
  Scholar Athletes are intellectually curious, set high academic goals for themselves, and excel in their studies.
• Demonstrate the following key attributes:
  • Proactive and highly motivated
  • Inspiring and charismatic
  • Honest and trustworthy
  • Genuine
  • Strong and Courageous

ELIGIBILITY

In order to be eligible for the award, the applicant must:

• Be a current high school senior
• Be a current member (in good standing) of a high school sports team or be involved in after-school sports (e.g. intramurals, martial arts, etc.)
• Have maintained an unweighted GPA of 3.0 or higher from 9th grade to first semester of 12th grade
• Be a resident of Bergen County (NJ)
• JCC membership is not required

SELECTION PROCEDURE

The Kaplen JCC on the Palisades will review all applications in coordination with the Sports Night of Champions Board and key staff members of the JCC. Awardees will be notified April, 2026. Scholarship awards will be presented May, 2026.

SCHOLAR ATHLETE AWARD WINNERS

2025  
GianLuca Mangano, Hackensack High School
Radha Munver, Dwight-Englewood School

2024
Travis Park, Palisades Park Junior Senior High School
Kylie Castillo, Ridgefield Memorial High School

2023
Jayden Ko, Tenafly High School, Duke University
Sofia Zypman, Cresskill High School, Princeton University

2022
Sid Hamburger, Cresskill High School, University of Miami
Logan Tridel, Rutherford High School, University of Miami

2021
Ohnyu Che, Bergen County Technical High School, Teterboro, Northwestern University
Kenneth Daici, Leonia High School, Brown University

2020
Walter Chang, Bergen County Technical High School, Teterboro, Cornell University
Casey Lam, Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest, Tufts University

2019
Madison Christiana, Wood-Ridge Jr Sr High School, The University of Rhode Island             
Justin Yehuda, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, University of Maryland

2018
Alexandra George, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, Drexel University
Tobias Zypman, Cresskill High School, Princeton University