Washington, D.C.–The McDonald’s Family Restaurants of Great Washington, D.C. awarded 35 scholarships to local high school seniors during its 9th Annual McDonald’s Educates Scholarship Program. Another group of 20 scholarship recipients were honored at a reception in Hagerstown, Maryland.

This year, McDonald’s 55 scholarships amounted to $93,000. Each winner received a scholarship in the amount of either $5,000 or $1,500 that will go towards college tuition.

The D.C. reception took place on May 1 at the Roof Terrace Restaurant of the John F. Kennedy Center. The special guest was Russ Parr, host of the popular morning show on 100.3 Jamz/KJMZ-FM and a former McDonald’s scholarship recipient.

At the reception, Kyung Rhee, owner of several local McDonald’s franchise, said although there were numerous applicants, the percentage of Asian American students was low, only less than 10 per cent. He added that he wished more of them would apply for future McDonald’s scholarships.

The recipients were selected based on a variety of criteria including: their academic records, commitment to their communities, and letters of recommendation.

To date, the McDonald’s Family Restaurants of Greater Washington, D.C. has awarded over $600,000 dollars to local students through the annual McDonald's Educates Scholarship Program.

McDonald’s is also affiliated with other programs such as the RMHC National Scholarships/HACER/Future Achievers and The Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship. For more information, contact English Young at eyoung@holinharris.com. Or visit the website, www.mcdonaldseducates.com/scholarships.