Semper Fi Club Honors 3 Local Students

Outstanding MAHS grads are college-bound

By Vickie Babyak
The Tube City Almanac
July 01, 2025
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

Semper Fidelis Club members and officers pose with the scholarship recipients and retired state Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Baldwin. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)

Three outstanding local students received scholarships from McKeesport’s Semper Fidelis club.

At its annual “Salute to the Graduates” program, held at the Healthy Village Learning Institute on Freemont Street, Saniya Rivers, Santana Kennedy and Treyvon Bowling were recognized by Semper Fi. Established in 1919, it is one of Pennsylvania’s long-standing clubs and has a commitment to community service and scholarship awards.

Along with awarding scholarships, the club also makes donations to various organizations in the Mon Valley, contributed to the African American room at the University of Pittsburgh, and helped raise money for the Carnegie Library of McKeesport, chairperson Fawn Walker Montgomery said.

Above: Semper Fidelis scholarship awardees Saniya Rivers, Treyvon Bowling and Santana Kennedy all from McKeesport. Below: Chairperson Fawn Walker Montgomery gave an opening presentation that included the history of the Semper Fidelis Club. (Vickie Babyak photos for Tube City Almanac)

"We are one of the oldest clubs in the region and oldest club in Pennsylvania,” Walker Montgomery said. “We maintain a lifelong membership with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.”

Semper Fidelis presents its scholarships to outstanding graduates of McKeesport Area High School who self-identify as being of African American heritage in recognition of their academic achievement and community service.

Rivers, who was awarded the club’s Dr. Allen J. Singleton Scholarship, will attend Robert Morris University, while Kennedy, who was awarded the Semper Fidelis Club Scholarship, is attending IUP Academy of Culinary Arts, and Bowling, recipient of the Semper Fidelis Scholarship, will attend Duquesne University.

Each thanked the club for their scholarships, and spoke of their future dreams and educational plans.

“I’ve spent my entire life in this district and it’s so sad but I finally get to graduate from here. I really enjoyed my time here and now that I’m moving on it’s bittersweet. Thank you to Semper Fidelis for funding my future, basically, and helping me move on from McKeesport,” Bowling said.

Retired Allegheny County Judge and state Supreme Court Justice Cynthia A. Baldwin. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)

Retired Allegheny County Judge and state Supreme Court Justice Cynthia A. Baldwin, herself a one-time Semper Fidelis scholarship recipient, was the keynote speaker and offered words of encouragement to this year’s recipients.

“I’m going to briefly talk to you on the subject of what I call, know yourself, be yourself, and do it yourself,” Baldwin said. “I know you’re looking at this short Black woman with grey hair, and wondering what in the world could we have in common. Well, more than you think.”

She recalled how she attended McKeesport High School, graduated with high honors, and benefited from a Semper Fidelis scholarship. Baldwin read a poem her father had recited to her, shared some of her life experiences, and provided inspirational advice for the recipients.

Baldwin concluded, “Give the world the best that you have, and you know what, you'll get kicked in the teeth, but give the world the best that you can.”

Club president Norine Jenkins ended the event with encouraging words. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)

Semper Fidelis president Norine Jenkins extended a heartfelt thanks to donors, awardees, club members, community, and McKeesport native Dr. Allen J. Singleton, a Professor Emeritus, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author of the book “Making Dreams Reality: The Dreamer.”

“What I find most important about Dr. Singleton, and our esteemed guest Justice Cynthia Baldwin and her husband Mr. Arthur Baldwin, they have never forgotten their roots in McKeesport,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins ended the event with words of wisdom by quoting a line from chapter eight in Singleton's book: “Every day may not be good, but you can find good in every day.”

Vickie Babyak is a photographer and freelance writer from Dravosburg. She may be reached at vbabyak@yahoo.com.

Originally published July 01, 2025.

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