COURTESY PHOTO
From left front row, scholarship recipients Mairead Anne Bresnehan, Samantha Livermore (Barbara and Randy Goodwin Scholarship), Ashley Stiles, Eve Rice, Ava McGarry (Don Humphreys Scholarship) Back Row Zach Newell (Committee Chair), Ron Amon (Marblehead Rotary Club President).
MARBLEHEAD — The Marblehead Rotary Club awarded five scholarships to Marblehead High School seniors this year.
Mairead Anne Bresnehan, Eve Rice, Ashley Stiles, Ava McGarry, and Samantha Livermore were awarded scholarships.
Bresnehan is heading to the University of Rochester where she plans to pursue her passion for science and biology. She demonstrated strong academic credentials while showing commitment to her community and demonstrated leadership, the Club said. She was the president of the Marblehead High School chapter to the National Honor Society, volunteered for many years at My Brother’s Table and cofounded a tutoring/mentor program to provide support for children in Salem and Lynn. She was also the recipient of the Harvard Book Award and the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award.
Rice will attend Babson College in the fall. She plans to study business and focus on entrepreneurship. Rice is proud of her outside involvements including being an athlete – she is a founding member of the high school volleyball team and the captain of both the indoor and spring track teams. She actively volunteers at nursing homes and helps working with Alzheimer’s residents.
Stiles is headed to University of Wisconsin this coming September. The honors student is most proud of co-founding a Cancer Awareness Club at the school. She is interested in science and, more specifically, conducting scientific research. Stiles plans to take this interest into college and study Molecular Biology. Stiles hopes her research leads to finding advances in cancer therapies. Stiles is also an athlete, and a co-captain of the basketball, field hockey and softball teams.
The third annual recipient of the Donald Humphreys Memorial Rotary Scholarship, Ava McGarry, will be heading to University of Delaware to study engineering. McGarry’s interest in engineering started at a young age – nurtured by her parents who gave her engineering projects to do outside the classroom. She attended science camp at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the summer of her freshman year where she had the opportunity to experiment with early 3D printer technology. She was awarded the national Girl Scout Gold Award for a project that used engineering ideas to implement a sustainable service plan to help the community. McGarry has four family members who honorably served in the United States Marines or the Navy – a history with the service that singles her out as this year’s Donald Humphreys scholarship recipient.
This year’s four-year Barbara and Randy Goodwin Scholarship was awarded to Livermore, who will matriculate at Tufts University in the fall. Livermore has broad interests both in science and music. She plans to study physics and astronomy. Livermore is an active member of The Jewel Tones (a co-ed a cappella group at the high school). Livermore organized a cloth donation effort for Syrian refugees and became inspired by the support she got from the community. She is passionate about fighting climate change. Her father produced a 10-minute video on making a home more energy efficient – and she created all the animations and visuals to support the story.
Depending on available resources, the Marblehead Rotary Club gives out four to five one-year, scholarships and one four-year Barbara and Randy Goodwin Memorial Scholarship each spring. Recipients are selected based on their financial need, academic achievements, demonstrated community service and excellence in sports or the arts. All recipients are either Marblehead residents or are in the Marblehead school system. Rotarians involved on the selection committee were Zach Newell, Gene Arnould, Nancy Gwin, Ed Nilsson, Ellen Winkler, Paul Rabin and Greg Bates.