As we send our students back to school, we wanted to acknowledge our scholarship recipients. This year, the Community Foundation for Nantucket was proud to award 45,500 in scholarship funds to 20 local students pursuing higher education. We were thrilled to hear from some of our students who spoke of how these scholarship dollars will help them now and in their future endeavors.
“I am so honored to have received the Sally Roberts Scholarship”, says KD Tornovish who will start her freshman year at Belmont University this fall. “After college, I hope to teach with as much enthusiasm and dedication as Mrs. Roberts did as my PE teacher at Nantucket Elementary School.” “I strive to excel as a teacher one day, and ultimately make the Roberts family proud to have awarded me as the first ever recipient of this scholarship.”
“Receiving the William H. Brown Scholarship gave me a new appreciation for the Nantucket community and the support it’s always given me-my scholarship is one of the many ways the island has helped me pursue my goals in different areas”, says Olivia Funderburg, a rising Senior at Wellesley College who has received this scholarship for all 4 years. The Community Foundation and the William H. Brown Scholarship helped me enjoy my time at Wellesley College, a place where I’m lucky to be, because I can dedicate myself to my academics while also pursuing interests outside of the classroom with less financial strain.”
“Receiving this scholarship is so important to me for my future after high school. The scholarship assists and allows me to further my education”, says Isabelle Roberts who was awarded the Jack Pignato scholarship for her first year at Assumption University.
“In addition, it will allow me to focus on my swimming career and less on financial burdens. Thanks so much again for this wonderful opportunity.”
A majority of our scholarship funds have been set up as memorials for family members or loved ones. For example, the Pat Martin Scholarship was created to provide scholarships to a graduating senior or past graduate of Nantucket High School who demonstrates a spirit of giving through his or her extracurricular activities and interest in civic affairs. One of the scholarship founders, Kitty Pochman, writes,
“Patricia Lees Martin (pictured left) was an energetic advocate for the Nantucket Schools, for women’s health issues, the Nantucket Atheneum, and was instrumental in establishing the Cape & Islands public radio station WCAI and WNAN.” Her son, Peter, said that Pat “was loved and appreciated by many as an ethical, forthright, intelligent, good-humored and dignified woman”. Her life was cut short by cancer in March 2001, and to honor and celebrate her memory, six of her close friends established a scholarship in her name.”
This year the Pat Martin Scholarship was awarded to Alex Shannon, a rising Senior at University of Vermont. “Receiving the Pat Martin Scholarship is truly an honor because it allows me to not only dedicate my time to my studies, but to also continue my involvement in community activities, like regularly volunteering at a local food shelf and serving as a senator on the Student Government Association. Without the help of this scholarship I would not be able to be an active member of my University’s student body. Thanks to this scholarship I can focus on both my education and giving back.”
Congratulations to our full list of 2017 Scholarship Recipients!
Gary and Glenn DaSilva Scholarship
Bertram Wilson, Roger Williams University
Jack Pignato Memorial Scholarship
Isabelle Roberts, Assumption College
Pat Martin Scholarship
Alexandra Shannon, University of Vermont
Jeanette T. Garneau Memorial Scholarship
Amy Tejada, Drexel University
Callahan Bartlett, Fordham University
Kezia Duarte, Quinnipiac College
Lydia Gullickson, Sweet Briar
Sally Robert’s Mentor Scholarship
Kathleen Tornovish, Belmont University
June Bartlett Scholarship
Grace Bartlett, Yale Univeristy
Sabrina Kyburg, University of Vermont
Riley Fusaro, Salve Regina University
Nora McLellan, UMass Amherst
Sierra Gray, University of Rhode Island
Kristina Ringer, Elon University
William H. Brown Scholarship
Isabell Beal, Providence College
Kathleen Tornovish, Belmont University
Nicole Gottlieb, Providence College
Ashmita K.C., Simmons College
Olivia Funderburg, Wellesley College
Ronan Daly, New York University
Interested to learn how the Community Foundation is Nantucket’s social impact partner, helping ALL of Nantucket? From scholarship funds for Nantucket students to affordable housing solutions, visit our scholarship or MAKE A GIFT today!