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Scholarships

Fitchburg American Legion Post 10 awards scholarships to students

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FITCHBURG — Ten local students have been awarded $500 scholarships each through the American Legion Post 10 Scholarship Program.

Twenty-three local Class of 2023 students earned Citizenship honors and 18 were able to participate in AL/ALA Boys & Girls State last June. They will receive their scholarship at their Senior Awards Program at school.

The students awarded scholarships are:

Liam Buckley – Boys State 2022 – Saint Bernard’s High School – Suffolk University

Morgan Graves – Girls State 2022 – Fitchburg High School – Merrimack College

Kayla McCormick – Girls State Citizen – Groton Dunstable High School – Assumption University

Lily Kenney – Girls State 2022 – Saint Bernard’s High School – Regis College Nursing Major

Mateo Quintero – Boys State 2022 – DAR Good Citizen – Fitchburg High School – Harvard University

Nana Okyere – Girls State 2022 – Saint Bernard’s High School – Boston University

Darnell Woodson – Boys State 2022 – Saint Bernard’s High School – Gordon College

Frank Gallo IV – Boys State 2022 – Fitchburg High School – Dartmouth College.

Maggie Bourgeois – Girls State Citizen – Fitchburg High School – Fitchburg State University

Marcus Kelly – Boys State 2022 – Fitchburg High School – UMass Lowell, Honors College

Laurelwood Garden Club presents ‘Soil for a Healthy Planet’

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FITCHBURG — The Laurelwood Garden Club will hold its first meeting of the new year from 9:30 a.m. until noon Friday, Feb. 10, at the Fitchburg Art Museum, 185 Elm St.

A slide presentation titled “Soil for a Healthy Planet” will be presented by Ralph Baker, PhD., an environmental scientist.

“I will speak on the importance of the carbon cycle in the soil, and what we can do to make a difference in how plants and soil interact to help the environment,” said Dr. Baker. “Our gardens, and our landscaping can play a part in helping to address climate change and the loss of biodiversity, both of which are challenging the stability of natural systems we depend on both where we live and globally.

Baker believes that understanding soils and how they vary on the landscape right here can enable us to improve the health of our gardens.

“I believe they can also help strengthen our communities,” he said.

Baker earned his degree in soil physics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1989. During his career he was an international leader in carrying out hazardous waste cleanup projects.

He is a resident of Fitchburg and is currently involved in many local non-profit environmental organizations, serving on the City of Fitchburg Conservation Commission, the board vice president of the Nashua River Watershed Association, and has spent many years being extensively involved in the Fitchburg Tails Vision Plans.

“Soil and it’s amendments are the root of all successful growth and as beginners and on-going gardeners this program will help us improve our gardens to look their best and protect our environment,” said Julie Palioca, Laurelwood Garden Club’s public relations chairperson.

Refreshments for this meeting will be provided by Joyce Candella and Mary Ed Cain, with a floral arrangement by Palioca.

The Laurelwood Garden Club will hold their next meeting in March, featuring Dr. David Ammerman who will discuss some of the more commonly used medicinal herbs and the evidence behind the claims. This meeting will be held on Friday, March 10.

The annual Scholarship Tea will be held from 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at the Fitchburg Art Museum.

“Members and guests will be seated at a themed tablescape reflecting the l920s era that will fill the center of each table, along with unique items and tableware that reflect the theme,” said Palioca, “Each of the tea tables will be created and outfitted by members of the Laurelwood Garden Club. Guests will be served with a flurry of savories and sweets along with a flow of Irish Breakfast Tea.”

Advance ticket purchase of $25 is required.

Each year, the Laurelwood Garden Club offers a scholarship to a high school senior who will pursue an education in Agricultural, Horticultural, Landscaping Design or Architecture, Conservation, Forestry, Agronomy, City Planning, Land Management, Botany, Biology and Environmental Studies. Students should contact their high school’s guidance counselor or the club’s scholarship chairperson, Barbara Reynolds, at 978-582-1662

The Laurelwood Garden Club will once again partner with the Fitchburg Art Museum in the 25th Annual Art in Bloom event to be held Thursday, April 27 through Sunday, April 30, at the Fitchburg Art Museum.

“There is expected to be 40 pieces of artwork available to interpret from the permanent collections and upcoming exhibitions,” Palioca said. “We invite our members, local garden clubs, and aspirants to interpret for Art in Bloom, as well as floral shops to participate.”

Interested participants to interpret can visit the Fitchburg Art Museum Wednesdays through Sundays from noon until 3 p.m. beginning Feb. 22 through April 2, to select an artwork and complete the Interpreters Kit.

Interpreters have free admission and a complimentary ticket to the Friday night Champagne Reception.

For more information and assistance in the selection process, contact Rebecca Wright at the Fitchburg Art Museum, 978-345-4207 or Palioca at 978-537-7630.

Floral designer, Thelma Shoneman, will create floral arrangements and provide members and guests with design tips on interpreting artwork at the Friday, April 14 meeting.

The Laurelwood Garden Club was organized in l965 and is affiliated with National Garden Clubs Incorporated (New England Region) and the Garden Club Federation of Mass, Inc. within the Central North District.

Its monthly meeting place is at the Fitchburg Art Museum on the second Friday of the month from September through June. Meetings are open to those interested in garden related programs.

For more information on club membership, contact Julie Palioca, 978-537-7630 or visit laurelwoodgardenclub.org.

Four Twin Cities students awarded Greater Worcester Community Foundation scholarships

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Four students from the Twin Cities area are included in a list of over 400 students receiving 2022 scholarships from the Greater Worcester Community Foundation.

The scholarships are awarded to high school seniors who are going onto college. Fitchburg High School graduate Isa Jackymora received the Wallace D. and Dorothy M. Andrews Scholarship, Sizer School graduate Roman Roy was awarded the Leonard F. Leamy Scholarship, and Leominster High School graduates Lucas Gallo and Nora Swaine also received scholarships.

According to a press release it took 80 volunteers to comb through over 700 scholarship applications but by the end of the 2022 school year, 401 students received news they had been approved for a scholarship award. Worcester based GWCF gave out 439 awards in total this year through its scholarship program, a small piece of the $14.04 million total given to over 9,000 students since its inception in 1978.

Sizer School graduate Roman Roy was awarded the Leonard F. Leamy Scholarship from the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. (COURTESY GREATER WORCESTER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION)
Sizer School graduate Roman Roy was awarded the Leonard F. Leamy Scholarship from the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. (COURTESY GREATER WORCESTER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION)

The press release stated that the GWCF scholarship program is about paying it forward. Most scholarship recipients never meet the donors who start the funds, but their college aspirations are being met by those who believe in the future of Worcester County.

For instance, the William J. Short Scholarship for Future Business and Civic Leaders named after a man who led the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce for 25 years helped Jacob Vázquez, the first college graduate in his family, to attend Assumption University. His experience brought him full circle, as Vázquez is now the foundation’s scholarship philanthropy officer.

“The scholarship program isn’t just about giving money towards a college diploma, it’s about investing in the future of our city,” Vázquez said. “The hope is that many of these students stay in Central Massachusetts and improve their families lives, their communities, their hometowns, and the entire region.”

Recipients throughout Worcester County were selected through a highly competitive process on the basis of merit, financial need, and special criteria established by the individual funds as stated in the press release. New awardees hail from all over Greater Worcester County with 68% of them attending college across Massachusetts.

Jackymora is attending Northeastern University in Boston majoring in bioengineering and biochemistry and enjoys music and has a passion for saxophone. Roy played basketball and participated in cross country in high school and is now at Boston College majoring in mathematics.

Talia Smith, a Charles Hugo Community Service Awardee who graduated from the Massachusetts Academy of Math & Science, stated in the press release that she understands the value of paying it forward.

“I can see how what one person does greatly affects those around them, and I will do everything that I can to make my contributions generous and positive,” said Smith, who is majoring in biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Lucas Gallo, a lover of basketball, soccer and football is studying Sports Management at Temple University. Nora Swaine, an editor for her high school newspaper and class of 2022 president at Leominster High School is studying Public Relations at Suffolk University.

College-bound high school seniors can be considered for multiple scholarship opportunities through the foundation’s single online application, with the next application cycle opening January 2023. For more information email Jacob Vázquez at jvazquez@greaterworcester.org or visit greaterworcester.org.

Voice of Democracy Patriotic Audio Essay Competition to focus on importance of veterans

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“Why Is The Veteran Important?” is the theme of this year’s Voice of Democracy Patriotic Audio Essay Competition sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and its Auxiliary which gives high school students the opportunity to compete for awards, prizes, and college scholarship monies by writing and recording an audio essay on that patriotic theme. The grand prize is a $35,000 scholarship.

Townsend VFW Post No. 6538 and Pepperell VFW Post No. 3291 and their Auxiliaries are co-sponsoring the program at North Middlesex Regional, Nashoba Valley Technical, Groton-Dunstable Regional, Ayer Shirley, and Lunenburg high schools.

The winner of the Townsend-Pepperell contest will receive $150 in cash and the second place winner will be awarded $100, while the third place winner will receive $50.

The local first place winning entry will be entered into the District No. 15 level of competition where cash prizes will be awarded to the winning contestants. Additional top scoring local entries will be entered into the District 15 level of judging for each additional 15 entries received at the local level. The district’s first place winning entry will be entered into the state competition where the top five winners will each receive a scholarship and a cash prize.

The winner of the Department of Massachusetts VFW and its Auxiliary Voice of Democracy competition will receive a $5,000 scholarship, $500, and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC.

While there, the Massachusetts winner will join with the winners of the other 52 departments to tour the city, meet our nation’s leaders, be honored by the VFW and its Auxiliary, and receive a portion of the $171,000 in national scholarships monies.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals has again approved the Voice of Democracy Contest for its National Advisory List of Contests and Activities.

To enter the Voice of Democracy competition, each contestant must write their essay on “Why Is The Veteran Important?” and then record it on a flash drive/USB, taking not less than three minutes or more than five minutes. The script as read by the student should be the only sound on the flash drive/USB. No music, singing, poetry, or sound effects will be allowed.

The recording will be judged on originality (30 points), content (35 points), and delivery (35 points). Treatment of the theme should show imagination and human interest. The ideas should be clearly expressed in an organized manner. The contestant should speak in a clear and credible manner.

Participants cannot identify themselves, their school, city, state, race, or country of origin within their written essay or recording.  However, they should label their recording and their neatly typed essay to alleviate any confusion over the ownership of the entry.

Their name, address, and school should be listed on the 2022-2023 Official Voice of Democracy Entry Form which is attached to their typed essay. Additional rules are included in the student brochure.

All recorded entries, accompanied by a typed copy of the script and a completed official entry form, must be submitted to a Townsend or Pepperell Voice of Democracy Chairman by Monday, Oct. 31.

Anyone seeking more contest information or wanting to make arrangements to submit an entry should call Betty Mae Tenney at 978-597-6495 or 978-597-5644, ext. 9.

The program is open to students in grades 9-12 who are less than 20 years of age. Although U.S. citizenship is not required, contest entrants must be lawful U.S. permanent residents or have applied for permanent residence (the application for which has not been denied).

Young people who attend schools where the program is not being conducted by a VFW Post and/or its Auxiliary or who are enrolled in an approved home school program may enter the Townsend-Pepperell program by submitting their entry to Townsend VFW Post Chairman Russell Jobe, Townsend VFW Auxiliary Chairman Betty Mae Tenney, Pepperell VFW Post Chairman Meg Murphy, or Pepperell VFW Auxiliary Chairman James Straitiff.