2011 LHAND Scholarship winners, front from left, Lucely Andino, Kirsten Ferrari, Gabriella Galeazzi, Apu Johnson, Stephanie Scherrer and Lauren Kreamer; middle row, Bolanle Odusanya, Jayne Emmons, Kathryn Halloran, Jenna Kulakowski, Tyhgita Cespedes and Michael Clancy; back row, Casara Lane, Tyler Alicudo, Shaddai Pena, Richard Ford, Camron Womack, Colin Mageary, Peter McCarthy and Matthew Hamill.
The Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) presented college scholarships totaling $22,500 to 25 high school seniors from Lynn.
The scholarships are funded by LHAND employee fundraising events and donations from local businesses. LHAND has awarded $133,000 in scholarships since 1999.
“This is our most successful year of assisting Lynn resident high school seniors,” LHAND Executive Director Charles Gaeta said. “This would not have been accomplished without our employees’ donation of time and money, particularly their work every year with our largest event, the scholarship golf tournament, and by the generosity of our scholarship fundraiser sponsor Willow Labs of Lynn.”
Academic achievement is not the only factor the LHAND Scholarship Committee takes into consideration when going through the selection process. The committee looks at extracurricular activities, and also asks applicants to write an essay about what they like most about their community and their school.
Olivia Lyons was on the scholarship selection committee this year and was impressed with the applications. “There are many students in Lynn who are going to do really well and make a difference out there. The amount of hard work they have put into their education really showed in their application,” she said.
The awards are broken down into three categories: any high school senior who is a Lynn resident; a high school senior who is a past or present participant in any LHAND housing program; or a high school senior who is a Lynn resident accepted into the education field, a scholarship named for former LHAND Board of Commissioners Chair and Pickering Middle School Principal Patricia Barton. In addition, to the three categories there is a Director’s Award chosen every year by the executive director.
The scholarships were presented at a reception at LHAND. Other members of the selection committee this year included: Adelle Abdallah, Patricia Jackson, Sara Johnson, Dan Kennedy, Cathy Rowe, Todd Spirito, Lisa Tobin and Brenda Womack.