Celebrating Our 2026 Scholarship Recipients
We’re proud to announce the recipients of The Meoli Companies’ 2026 Employee Scholarship Program. This year we awarded $12,000 in scholarships to six team members from our McDonald’s restaurants in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Each recipient gets $2,000 toward college.
We read every application for each student’s personal journey, their role in the community and their goals for the future. This year’s recipients stood out for their leadership, their work ethic and their ability to keep going through real challenges.
Meet our 2026 scholarship recipients:
- Emelyn Angeles-Arroyo, Selbyville, DE is studying legal studies at Delaware Technical Community College and plans to become an attorney. After losing her stepfather in 2025, she chose to stay close to home to support her family. She says her McDonald’s coworkers became a second family.
- Jennie Janvier, Seaford, DE is attending Salisbury University. Inspired by her mother’s hard work, she balances school, work and family responsibilities and volunteers at local events.
- Kinte Tolson, Dover, DE is attending Clark Atlanta University and wants to become a filmmaker. He’s a varsity cheerleader, mentors younger students and organized a clothing drive for families in need.
- Meghan Maloney, Camden, DE is studying photography and media at Delaware State University. She worked with us all four years of high school and hopes to become a travel photographer.
- George Schwaeble, Denton, MD started working at McDonald’s at 14 to save for college and is now a Crew Trainer. He’s attending the University of Maryland, College Park.
- Aydria Jones, Norfolk, VA is studying nursing at Norfolk State University. Her goal is to become a nurse-midwife and help reduce racial disparities in healthcare.
“These scholarships are about recognizing our employees for what they’re accomplishing both inside and outside of our restaurants,” said Michael A. Meoli, Owner and Operator of The Meoli Family McDonald’s Restaurants. “For many, McDonald’s is their first job, and we’re proud to play a small part in helping them build skills, continue their education and take that next step toward their future.”
In the news
We’re grateful to our local newspapers for sharing these stories:
Our scholarship program is one part of how we help our people grow beyond the restaurant. Our employees can also use McDonald’s Archways to Opportunity program, which offers high school completion, college tuition assistance, English and Spanish language courses, and academic and career advising.
Congratulations to all six of our Meoli Company 2026 Scholarship recipients. We can’t wait to see what you do next!
