Kiera Barwell, a resident of West Chester, is one of 213 students nationally who was recently named a 2023 Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholar. She will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. 

Barwell is a member of Beta Psi Pi, Delaware County Community College’s Chester County Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an international honor society of associate degree-granting colleges. She is majoring in graphic design and is pursuing an associate degree in arts. She is also involved in service to her local community. In 2022 she earned a Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor awarded by Girl Scouts of the USA. For her Gold Award project, Barwell designed and built a human foosball court at Shadyside Park in West Bradford Township.

The Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholarship Program helps scholars defray educational expenses while enrolled in associate degree programs. This year’s scholars were selected from more than 1,100 applicants by a panel of independent judges. Scholars are selected based on outstanding scholastic achievement, community service and leadership potential.

“We are very proud that one of our students has been recognized with this prestigious national award,” said Delaware County Community College president Marta Yera Cronin, Ed.D. “Kiera’s selection as a Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholar is an outstanding accomplishment and a reflection of her strong academic work and her commitment to her community.”   

A total of $213,000 will be awarded this year through the Leaders of Promise Scholarship Program. The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation provides $200,000 in funding for the scholarships, with $25,000 set aside for members who are veterans or active members of the United States military. The remaining amount is supported by donations to the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation and provides seven Global Leaders of Promise Scholarships, earmarked for international students.  

“The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation has a long history of providing financial assistance to outstanding students at community colleges,” said Jane Hale Hopkins, president of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. “We are proud to partner with Phi Theta Kappa to make it possible for more deserving students to achieve their educational goals and support tomorrow’s leaders of the global community.”