OKLAHOMA CITY – Paycom has announced this year’s recipient of the Barry Cladinos Memorial Perseverance Scholarship is Alysha Siddiqi, a recent graduate of Edmond North High School.
Siddiqi graduated in May with a weighted 4.255 GPA and will attend Yale University in New Haven, Conn. this fall. While a student at Edmond North, Siddiqi was involved in a number of clubs and activities, including the swim team, debate team, Key Club, Huskies for Equality, Girls State, Girls Nation, Superintendent’s Advisory Council, Youth Leadership Edmond, Oklahoma Hall of Fame Teen Board, and a number of others. She also volunteered through the Metropolitan Library Summer Reading Program and Teen Service Team, as well as the Husky Mentorship Program.
Paycom partnered with the Edmond Public Schools Foundation to create the scholarship in 2018 in memory of Barry Cladinos, an Edmond North and University of Central Oklahoma alumnus, who was a beloved team member at Paycom where he served as a Supervisor in the New Client Setup department before his passing in 2017. For Siddiqi, this honor goes far beyond academic achievement.
“I applied for this scholarship because of Barry Cladinos, who was memorialized for his perseverance.” Siddiqi said. “Through my time in school, through different experiences, I’d like to think of myself as being perseverant. Hopefully I’ve been able to demonstrate that.”
While Siddiqi is still undecided on her field of study at Yale, she is confident in her plans after she graduates.
“Receiving this scholarship is great, because it helps fund my education and I hope to one day bring that education to Oklahoma and invest back into our state.”
Siddiqi is the second recipient of Paycom’s Barry Cladinos Memorial Perseverance Scholarship. Karli Spann received the honor in 2018.