Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Grant Guidelines: The Margaret Derwin Scholarship For Housatonic Valley Regional High School

“'There's no use trying,' she (Alice) said 'one can't believe impossible things.' 'I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. 'When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Are you a Junior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School? Have you believed “impossible” things? Do you dream of an exciting future doing interesting work in the world and helping others? Are you accomplished in school? Dedicated to your dreams? Have significant financial needs? Are you ready to step up to your own best possibilities? Is the sky your limit?

The Margaret Derwin Scholarship Fund will offer one student from Housatonic Valley Regional High School the opportunity to think beyond the ordinary and embrace the possibility of achieving something wonderful in their lives, a “blue sky” opportunity. A Junior will be selected this spring to be the Margaret Derwin Scholar. S/he will receive support up to $5,000 for a national or overseas summer community service program* (July/August 2013) and up to $25,000 for tuition and associated costs of attending the college of their choice anywhere in the United States for 2014/15 and each of the following three years of college.

To be eligible, you must:

Who is the ideal candidate for this Scholarship?

All three of the following criteria will have equal weight in making the selection:

Margaret Derwin Scholarship Expectations:

Once selected, the successful candidate is required to maintain their academic standing in their senior year at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The selection committee will identify a runner-up candidate in the event that the winner does not maintain good academic standing in his/her senior year. The Scholarship will be renewed annually throughout undergraduate college years provided the Derwin scholar maintains his/her academic standing and remains in financial need. The Blue Sky Scholar is expected to access all other resources for scholarship assistance.

Application process

Applications will be reviewed by Berkshire Taconic staff to ensure that eligibility requirements are met. The Selection Committee will then review them and make their determination based on the criteria outlined above.

Award Announcement

The announcement of the Margaret Derwin Scholar will be made by mid June 2013.

Margaret Derwin

This scholarship is named for Margaret Derwin who graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School. Margaret grew up in North Canaan and decided that she wanted to be a social worker. Through her own efforts she learned of a program at Wheelock College in eastern Massachusetts, applied and was accepted. She then proceeded to assemble numerous scholarships and private support for her tuition for all four years. She was a disciplined scholar who loved life and was on the Dean’s List for all her time at Wheelock. After receiving her BA, Margaret decided to go on to graduate school. Wheelock had the program she was interested in and again Margaret succeeded in securing sufficient scholarship monies to pay for her Master’s program. Just before she was to enter the program, she was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a malignant bone tumor. Margaret fought her illness valiantly with medical support from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston but regrettably died in November 2010.

Margaret was a first rate student and even more was determined to follow her dream in spite of any obstacle that she faced. And there were many. She evidenced a kind of spunk and spirit that, had she lived, would have led her to exciting positions in the world where she would have easily been a leader and an inspiration to many others. Margaret had the ability to see beyond her own horizons and imagine a life that was bigger than her surroundings. She had talent certainly but also the important attribute of high aspirations. These are the characteristics of our future Derwin Scholars.

The Margaret Derwin Scholarship Fund

A group of Northwest Corner residents has pooled resources to make the Margaret Derwin Scholarship available. The donors want to encourage our public high school students to dream big, set aspirations high and take firm steps to achieve what might seem impossible but is not achievable without vision, talent and effort. The donors fully believe that it is essential for our students to set their sights high and move toward a cherished goal incrementally and steadily. The Derwin Scholarship will reward those who do. Our students are our future employers, employees, entrepreneurs and leaders. Our community needs the next generation of leaders who are knowledgeable, flexible and fully informed about the world’s resources. Our democracy needs innovative problem solvers, articulate spokespeople, and compassionate citizens. An excellent education is the keystone of our future leaders. The Derwin Scholarship is a community effort to support our future.

* Participation in a summer program is an important part of the Blue Sky Scholarship. The selected student will have up to $5000 available to travel overseas or to another part of the United States to participate in a community service program of his/her choice. Listed below are several website that may prove helpful in making a selection.

Transitions Abroad
Global Routes
American Field Service
World Learning