Two Massachusetts winners are chosen each year. One to receive $1500 and  another  $1000 if attending a vocational or industrial school  They also become eligible for national scholarships.

For more information on the Massachusetts scholarship program, contact our local chairman, Marilyn LaRiviere: mlariv@comcast.net.

Maeve West is the recipient of our Vocational School Scholarship.  She will receive a  $500 “Toolship” to be used for expenses for the Nursing Program at Cape Cod Community College.  She will graduate from Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School where she earned honors as the class of 2024 Outstanding Student Award, Tech Engineering Honors Outstanding Student Award, Top Shop for Culinary Arts and High Honors for her entire High School career. 

Eric Sun is a recipient of our $1000 scholarship and will graduate from Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough and will be attending Cornell University.  Eric is President of the National Honor Society, Founder and President of the Economics Club, Founder and President of Altivity, DECA Vice President, and Member of the Chinese Gospel Church. 

Dr Mary Steele, Mathematics Department wrote in part, “I have had the pleasure of getting to know what a determined young man Eric is, both academically and personally. …  He asked me to help advise the Economics Club he wanted to start.   I figured it would be a few gatherings a month and some light conversation, I could not have been more wrong. Eric prepared intricate stories that surprisingly wove together events in society with economics, ranging from Disney World to female artists decades ago.  He presented each one to the group in the form of a slide deck and included thoughtful questions for the members to ponder, even having them work in breakout groups and present their findings to everyone else to discuss….I wound up looking forward to the meetings because they were so interesting….Eric is accomplished, industrious, conscientious, and ready for the next step.”

Alejandro Nina Duran is a recipient of our $1000 scholarship.  He will be graduating from Kipp Academy Collegiate in Lynn and will be attending Duke University.  He served as President of the National Honor Society, Varsity Volleyball Captain, Varsity Cross-Country Co-Captain, and Global Glimpse Ambassador.  This is a paragraph that his Guidance Counselor shared as part of his reference letter.  “One central role that few at our school know that Alejandro plays is the older brother to two younger sisters.  Alejandro’s sister Maria is a sophomore in my homeroom, and has given me a unique insight into how he supports her by helping her with her Geometry homework and encouraging her to join the volleyball team.  She has even shared how Alejandro pushes back on topics in their shared Dominican culture such as colorism and toxic masculinity and even helped her embrace her natural hair texture.  What our school community does not get to see is that Alejandro wakes up two hours early every day to get their four year old sister Victoria ready for school.  Victoria has Down Syndrome and is neurodiverse and requires additional care as a result.  With her delayed motor and verbal skills, Victoria requires constant supervision and Alejandro carries her up and down the stairs, changes her diapers, cooks for her and feeds her. In the evenings he helps her with exercises to develop her verbal capabilities and mobility while translating her school forms and doctor’s notes into Spanish for their mom. Alejandro is the foundation for his family in every possible way.”

We can be very proud of ALL our students!

Submitted by Marilyn Lariviere