City Tech Scholarship For All Four Seasons

After graduating from New York City Technical College in 1953, Paul Kovi went on to become one of the city's legendary restaurateurs, presiding over the power-lunchers and diners at the Four Seasons. Now Kovi, who died in 1998, is being honored by a scholarship in Hospitality Management in his name at the College. Kicking off the endowment for the scholarship with a pledge of $100,000 was Kovi's long-time colleague and co-owner at the Four Seasons, Tom Margittai.

In March the first holder of the Paul Kovi Scholarship, East Flatbush resident Nerrisa Charles, was announced. Charles's advisor, Professor Julia Jordan, noted on the occasion the aptness of the award: "While they came from very different worlds, Paul Kovi and Nerrisa Charles shared something very fundamental: both were immigrants who came here to pursue their dreams."

Charles emigrated from Grenada in 1996, joining her father in New York but leaving her mother and sister behind. The scholarship will allow the sophomore (both of whose parents worked in hospitality) to complete her studies as a full-time student in three years. "Now, I will be able to get a job doing what I love—special events planning—sooner rather than much later," Charles says.