Senior Sam Oshinsky won the Carson Scholars Fund Award for the fourth time March 1.

The Carson Scholars Fund recognizes students in fourth through eleventh grade who have a GPA of 3.75 or higher and have completed a significant amount of community service. Twenty-three Montgomery County students received the award this year, but Oshinsky is one of only two in the county to receive the award four times.

Principals at all public schools in Maryland, Delaware and D.C. as well as some private schools in Maryland nominate one student for the award.

Former Pyle principal Michael Zarchin nominated Oskinsky for the award when Oshinsky was in eighth grade. He has won the award in eighth, ninth, 11th and 12th grade. Oshinsky received a $1000 scholarship only the first two years he won the award, as founders Ben and Candy Carson decided two years ago to only award monetary prizes to new scholars.

Oshinsky, who has 252 community service hours, spent one week building playgrounds in New Orleans for his Bar Mitzvah project as part of the KaBoom organization.

“I think it’s defnitely a big reason I was nominated because not many students do such big projects,” Oshinsky said. “Before I went, I just thought it was sad that such a disaster happened. Actually going to New Orleans made the disaster real for me.”

Oshinsky has also donated money to and worked with the Jewish Youth Philanthropy institute, as well helped Montgomery Hospice, a local center for elderly people, during the holiday season.

Judges at the Carson Scholar Fund chose Oshinsky to be a scholar after looking at his community service, teacher recommendations, GPA and answers to essay questions.

“Sam is a great scholar,” scholarship services coordinator Louise Burkert said. “Each year, his teachers have wrote stellar recommendations in regards to Sam’s love of learning, his interest in reading, and the positive addition he is to his school and community. He also wrote very promising, and inspiring essays about his respect for education and the grave effects of dishonesty in our country.”

Though Oshinsky had to spend time on the application, he thought the award helped him in the college process.

“I thought it was a great addition to my college application,” Oshinsky said. “It was definitely worth it to show that, besides the community service I had on my record, another organization had recognized that I gave a lot back to my community.”