The Gordon A. Rich Memorial Foundation was established in Gordon's memory to award college scholarships to exceptionally qualified high school students with demonstrated financial need whose parents or guardians work in the financial services industry. Gordon was a true "Renaissance Man" and the diversity of skills, passions and accomplishments which he achieved in his life serve as a benchmark by which GAR Scholars are evaluated.

Each year, the GAR Foundation hosts a dinner to honor Gordon Rich and the deserving Scholarship recipients. This year's dinner took place on October 23, 2008.

GAR Scholars

2007
Eddie Baurer

Eddie Baurer, born and raised in New York City, is a graduate of Friends Seminary. Beyond Advanced Placement academics, Eddie is a self taught and accomplished Jazz guitarist. He performed in the Friend's Jazz Ensemble, and was the recipient of a National Judge's Choice Award at Berklee College of Music Jazz Competition as well as a two year Merit Scholarship to the Recanati-Kaplan Excellence in Arts Program. Co-captain of the Golf Team at Friends Seminary, he volunteered summers at the First Tee, teaching golf to underprivileged youth. Leadership positions as Treasurer of the Investment Club and Business manager of the Yearbook influenced his decision to attend the Business School at George Washington University where he is majoring in Finance.

2007
Alex Dolgonos

My life began in Kiev, USSR—though you couldn’t tell by my butchering of the Russian language and by my registration in the Democratic Party. It seems like since it began, it has been perpetually changing. I have received instruction at eight different schools, have been involved in five different sports teams, and have held four different jobs—all before turning 19.

Despite all this change, I have maintained invaluable constants throughout my life, among which is the motivational rock that is passion. Skiing is, without question, my greatest sports passion. I have been skiing since I was 8 years old, and I have been on an alpine racing team since my freshman year of high school. A combined 10 weeks at summer race camp in Oregon and countless hours of individual and team training culminated in a 6th-place finish at state championships of my senior year. Another one of my passions is the quest for knowledge—specifically, in the fields of chemistry and physics. This particular passion is so strong, in fact, that I have devoted a significant amount of my summers to its pursuit: I had spent four weeks of my summer before senior year of high school learning astrophysics at Rutgers University, and almost the entirety of this past summer working at a materials science lab at the University of Pennsylvania, heading two research projects that will potentially result in publications. My final passion is people. I love meeting new people—especially those that are different than I—as I believe that a stimulating social life is integral in the understanding of oneself. That being said, let me introduce myself. My name is Alex.

2007
John Valantassis

John Valantassis grew up in Demarest, NJ and graduated from Northern Valley Regional High school. A true scholar of mathematics, he received the Columbia University Book Award for Engineering. In addition to his academic accomplishments, John is an avid soccer player and is fluent in Greek. The summer of 2006 was a particularly eventful time for John as he and his traveling soccer team were invited to play in Brazil. He was able to pursue both his passions at Haverford University where he is currently on the soccer team and plans on majoring in Mathematics.

2006
Molly Alig

Molly Alig grew up in Piermont, NY and graduated with honors from Tappan Zee High school. In addition to her academic achievements, she was a regular contributor to the Foreign Language Journal. She is currently attending Barnard College and is enthusiastic about pursuing a career in women’s health. She is an avid volunteer in many programs including March of Dimes, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Planned Parenthood, Take Back the Night and the Barnard College Rape Crisis/Anti Violence Center. Molly is also GAR's first Parkman Prize winner for 2008.

2006
Jianan Hu

Jianan Hu was born in Beijing, China and moved to New Jersey at the age of nine. Working hard to overcome the language barrier, she graduated from ESL within one year. She maintained a strong academic record throughout her high school career and graduated with honors from Millburn High School. In addition to her academic accomplishments, Jianan is also a talented pianist. She has won competitions such as the Young Pianist Competition of New Jersey, the Music Educators Association of New Jersey, and the Young People’s Music Program. She has performed in places such as Steinway Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York City. Along with her music accomplishments, Jianan is a black belt in the Korean martial arts Soo Bahk Do. She has participated in, and won nationals, among various other tournaments. She also enjoys teaching Soo Bahk Do to special needs children with mental and physical disabilities. She now attends Johns Hopkins University in pursuit of a degree in Chemical and Bimolecular Engineering.

2006
Derek Song

Derek is currently a junior at Duke University from Chapel Hill, NC. Before coming to college, he attended Chapel Hill High School, where he was involved in activities such as volunteering, band, Academic Bowl, and math club.

Derek is double majoring in mathematics and economics, with the intention of entering the financial sector after graduating. For the last year and a half, he has also been working in a hematology research lab.

This past summer, Derek spent two months in Australia volunteering with an environmental conservation group. His projects included planting trees, destroying invasive weeds, nature trail maintenance, and constructing fences to protect wildlife from grazing.

2003
Alex Levin

Graduated from Harvard
Major: Physics
Now a graduate student at MIT

Alex Levin was born in Odessa, Ukraine and moved to New York City at the age of seven. Dedicated to academic excellence, he graduated as Valedictorian of Stuyvesant High School and received the respected distinction of being named a National Merit Scholar. His passion for mathematics and science led him to participate in The Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics program (Summer 2001) as well as Boston University's Program in Mathematics for young Scientists (Summer 2002). Furthermore, as a result of his excellence in these fields, he has received many awards and honors such as The California Institute of Technology's Signature Award "for demonstrating creativity or innovation in the fields of mathematics and/or the sciences," as well as becoming one of only forty national finalists chosen from 1600 applicants in the Intel Science Talent Search (formerly known as The Westinghouse). Since his sophomore year, Alex has been an active course assistant in the mathematics department and has discovered a new found passion in teaching which he describes as the “best job on campus”. In addition to his academic achievements, Alex is currently the associate editor and business manager of SWIFT magazine. SWIFT is a Harvard based political satire magazine created and distributed by students. The magazine is published four times throughout the academic calendar. He is currently continuing his studies at Harvard University and plans on pursuing a career in mathematics.