Deer Park Recycling has committed $400,000 to establish a new scholarship program that will provide 10 four-year scholarships, each with a maximum value of $40,000, to students from Westbury and New Cassel who attend the State University of New York at Old Westbury.
Named in memory of company founder Jeffrey Sissons, who passed away in 2024, the Jeffrey M. Sissons Memorial Scholarship Fund was created through a donation made to the Old Westbury College Foundation, Inc. at the direction of his son, Anthony, to honor the elder Sissons’ life, career, and legacy of philanthropy.
The fund’s first award was made this fall to Alexa Santiago Munoz, a first-year Biochemistry major from New Cassel.
“These scholarships were something my father and I discussed often,” said Anthony Sissons. “Along with his work career, my father offered support to the community our company calls home, but he did it quietly and without recognition. With these scholarships, we are able to put his name on a program that reflects his values of hard work, generosity and community support.”
Located in Westbury, New York, Deer Park Recycling is among Long Island’s leading scrap metal recycling facilities, servicing customers throughout Long Island and New York City.
The $10,000 annual Sissons scholarship award supports high-achieving students who reside in Westbury and New Cassel, New York, with funding to be used for tuition, fees and other expenses at the University.
New awards will be made to one new, first-year student enrolling for full-time study each fall who demonstrates financial need but otherwise does not qualify for financial aid. The scholarship can be renewed annually for up to three additional years provided the students remain enrolled and maintain a grade point average of 2.7 or better.
"Philanthropic investment where we live and work is key to lifting up our communities and the friends and neighbors who live there,” said University President Timothy E. Sams. “The Sissons scholarship fund represents well the history of quiet caring that Jeffrey Sissons showed across his life and career. His legacy now continues on by making higher education available to the best and brightest from Westbury and New Cassel."
Old Westbury College Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees Chair Nora Bassett agreed and expressed her gratitude for the investment in students’ futures.
“This remarkable gift will open doors for deserving young people who dream of going to college but may lack the financial means," Bassett said. “We are honored to carry forward the memory of Jeffrey Sissons through the success of these scholars.”
First Awardee Named
The first recipient from the Jeffrey M. Sissons Memorial Scholarship Fund, Santiago Munoz is the first in her family to attend college and has begun studies that she hopes will lead to medical school.
I had reached the point where I knew I wouldn’t be able to go to school without taking loans, without being in debt. When I received news of my Sissons scholarship, I dropped to my knees and started sobbing, because I was so thankful.
-- Alexa Santiago Munoz
As a child growing up in a household where English is a second language, she developed an interest in medicine in part after regularly attending physician appointments with relatives to translate discussions and diagnoses. To achieve her dream of becoming a physician herself, she knew she needed to go to college.
“I was really torturing myself mentally because I had worked really hard in high school, taking AP classes, doing all those extracurriculars, really just trying to solidify my chance to attend a college,” said Santiago Munoz of her college search process. “I had reached the point where I knew I wouldn’t be able to go to school without taking loans, without being in debt. When I received news of my Sissons scholarship, I dropped to my knees and started sobbing, because I was so thankful.”
Having experienced the benefits of the generosity of Anthony Sissons and Deer Park Recycling, she is already thinking about how she might pay it forward in the future.
“This scholarship is helping me build a future as a doctor that I hope will improve the lives of those who come from communities like mine,” said Santiago Munoz. “I am already thinking about ways to make sure I open doors for others the way this opportunity opened a door for me."
Banner Photo Caption: SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy Sams (left) and Old Westbury College Foundation, Inc. Board Chair Nora Bassett (right) thank donor Anthony Sissons of Deer Park Recycling for creating the Jeffrey M. Sissons Memorial Scholarship Fund.