Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

18 Berkshire Taconic Scholarship Funds Award Over $212K in Scholarships to Berkshire County Students

August 15, 2011

SHEFFIELD, MA—Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation today announced that it has awarded over $300K in scholarships to 172 students throughout the region. 18 of the Foundation’s scholarship funds awarded $212,250 to students from Berkshire County. The funds, including the Charles and Elinore Agar Fund, the Caligari Family Scholarship Fund, Zenas Crane Fund for Student Aid & Winthrop Crane Fund for Graduate Student Aid, J. Edward Dery Scholarship Fund, the Honorable James P. Dohoney Scholarship Fund, the Housatonic School Scholarship Fund, the Isringhaus Scholarship Fund, the Guido Masiero Scholarship Fund, the Louis N. Massery Scholarship Fund, the McLaughlin Wilson Scholarship Fund, the Myrtle and Raymond Mercier Scholarship Award, the New World Fund, the William J. Newton Memorial Scholarship Fund, Michael P. O’Brien Scholarship Fund, the Esther Samuels and Mabel Cornman Scholarship Fund, the West Stockbridge Grange Scholarship, the William Stanley Scholarship Fund, Williams Academy Fund, and Williams High School Scholarship Fund—made awards to 115 students.

Maeve O'Dea, program director at Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation said, "More scholarship funds have opened at the foundation this year and our investments are building more assets for existing funds. This is terrific news for the students of our communities. As we all know, a college education is often a pre-requisite for successfully navigating the world ahead. Many of our young people come from families who have not gone to college, and a robust scholarship program is key to opening new doors for our students. We’re also proud that many of our scholarship programs, are renewable…in other words, a student can be supported throughout their four years of college and some even into graduate school."

The Charles and Elinore Agar Fund awards annual scholarships to graduating seniors of Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, MA who have an interest in pursuing science, engineering, history or creative writing. This year, Darcie Drew of Great Barrington received a scholarship to Queen’s College.

Sarah Olds received a scholarship from the Caligari Family Scholarship Fund, which supports Monument Mountain Regional High School seniors who plan to study art or design after graduation. Ms. Olds will attend Bennington College.

60 students received scholarships from the Zenas Crane Fund for Student Aid & Winthrop Crane Fund for Graduate Student Aid. These two funds support students who are graduates of Wahconah Regional High School or a vocational-technical program of a public high school and who are enrolled in or planning to enroll in an accredited college or university. Scholarships were awarded to: Nicholas Anastasio to attend Wentworth Institute of Technology; Alexander Beauchesne to attend Champlain College; Jeannette Benham to attend Bard College; Adam Blefari to attend Hartwick College; Jacqueline Boino; Kathryn Burgner to attend Bentley University; Samantha Burgner to attend Wentworth Institute of Technology; Erin Caffrey to attend UMASS Amherst; Anthony Cherry to attend Providence College; Jennifer Conner to attend Westfield State University; Hayley Cooney to attend Hartwick College; Mitchell Cooper to attend Northeastern University; Jordyn Cooper to attend Penn State University; Elizabeth Corley to attend Bennington College; Chloe Crane to attend University of Rhode Island; Aliah Curry to attend Norwich University; Santino Delmolino to attend Western New England University; Samantha DiMassimo to attend Westfield State College; Candice Dodge to attend Quinnipiac University; Jared Dodge to attend Rochester Institute of Technology; Kelsie Dumas to attend Emmanuel College; Bradley Duncan to attend UMASS Amherst; Tanner Farr to attend Westfield State College; Brandon Farrel to attend Westfield State College; Katelyn Harrington to attend Northeastern University; James Henderson to attend The University of Tennessee; William Henderson to attend The University of Tennessee; Bonnie Hiliadis to attend Lyndon State; Carly Jamross to attend Suffolk University; Eliza Keith to attend Northeastern University; Jillian Koczela to attend The University of Connecticut; Kristina Kovacs to attend Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; Timothy Kowalczyk to attend Suffolk University; John Lavinio to attend Western New England University; Craig Lennon to attend Westfield State College; Noelle Lussier to attend Chatham University; Cody Miller to attend Berkshire Community College; Emily Miller; Chelsi Morrison-Rohlfs to attend UMASS Amherst; Joshua Nadeau to attend Northeastern University; Kayla O’Connor to attend Salve Regina University; Hannah Osthoff to attend Roger Williams University; Michaela Powers to attend Bentley University; Mitch Russell to attend Westfield State College; Venice Sacco to attend UMASS Amherst; Julian Schnopp to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Jordan Schnopp to attend Merrimack College; Kaleigh Smith to attend Rhode Island College; Amy Tessier to attend UMASS Amherst; Gregory Tessier to attend Simmons College; Brian Tonelli to attend The University of Vermont; Jillian Tonelli to attend St. Anselm College; Shaun Vosburgh to attend UMASS Amherst; Kelly Vosburgh to attend Westfield State College; Zachary Washburn to attend Dean College; Valerie Watroba to attend University of Southern Maine; Nicholas Wilbur to attend Norwich University; Jennie Wolf to attend UMASS Amherst; Tucker Zink to attend Green Mountain College; and Carly Zink to attend Berkshire Community College.

The J. Edward Dery Scholarship Fund, which is given to students graduating from a local high school in the Pittsfield/Dalton area who plan on attending Berkshire Community College, was awarded to Andrea Arena.

8 students received scholarships from the Honorable James P. Dohoney Scholarship Fund, which supports graduating high school seniors who are residents of south Berkshire County. Scholarships were awarded to: Keegan Baldwin of West Stockbridge to attend UMASS Amherst; Autumn Bragan of Pittsfield to attend MCLA; Darcie Drew of Great Barrington to attend Queen’s College; Benjamin Hubbard of Lee to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Shawna Norton of West Stockbridge to attend St. Michael’s College; Sonrisa O’Toole of West Stockbridge to attend Wheaton College; Laura Smith of Great Barrington to attend Endicott College; Ian Woller of Lenox to attend George Washington University.

The Housatonic School Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to graduates of the Housatonic School, their descendants and residents of Housatonic. This year’s grant recipients were: Mariah Girouard to attend Smith College; Katelyn Laveille to attend Berkshire Community College; Erin Ryan to attend Boston College; and Kaitlyn Ryan to attend Xavier University.

The Isringhaus Scholarship Fund, provides scholarships to Berkshire Community College students who are enrolled in the nursing or fine arts programs, was awarded to Meredith Patton, Alex Martinez and Meredith McMillan.

The Guido Masiero Scholarship which provides scholarships to graduating high school seniors of Monument Mountain Regional High School going on to study physical education, health & wellness or business was awarded to Keegan Baldwin of West Stockbridge to attend UMASS Amherst.

Mitchell Hunt, received the Louis N. Massery Scholarship which is awarded to Pittsfield High School Seniors with backgrounds and an interest in leadership and service.

The McLaughlin Wilson Scholarship Fund awarded scholarships to Monterey residents and high school seniors. This year’s grant recipients were: Lauren Andrus, Wentworth Institute of Technology; Jessica Brown, UMASS Amherst; William Casey, MCLA; Norah Crossnohere, Skidmore College; Keller Dinan, Endicott College; Laura Dinan, Salve Regina University; Jason Duryea, University College Maine; Bennett Ferris, Brown University; Gabriel Ibanez, Berkshire Community College; Fiona Lacey, Evergreen State College; Bruce McAlister, Berkshire Community College; Grace Mendel, Grinnell College; Dinah Mielke, University of the Pacific; Oriana Raab, University of Prince Edward Island; and Oona Sellew, Ithaca College.

The Myrtle and Raymond Mercier Scholarship, which provides scholarships for residents of Stockbridge, was awarded to Kyle Bailey of Glendale to attend Rochester Institute of Technology.

Berkshire Community College students receiving grants were: Catheryn Chacon, Long Ton, and Su Qin from The New World Fund, which awards grants to new immigrants to the Berkshires who are enrolled at Berkshire Community College.

LeGeyt McLoughlin of Sheffield was awarded the William J. Newton Memorial Scholarship, which provides scholarships for Berkshire County residents pursuing studies in trade and industrial fields at a college, technical, vocational or trade school. He will attend Lincoln Technical Institute.

The Michael P. O’Brien Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to graduating seniors of Mount Greylock Regional High School and children of employees of South Adams Savings Bank, has awarded a scholarship to Matt Vaughan, Rachel Down, Amy Dubuc and Dylan Rapisarda.

The Esther Samuels & Mabel Cornman Scholarship Fund, which awards grants to graduating seniors of Lenox Memorial High School, has awarded a scholarship to Ian Woller to attend George Washington University and Michelle Messana to attend Smith College.

The West Stockbridge Grange Scholarship supports graduating high school seniors who are residents of Great Barrington, Richmond, W. Stockbridge or Stockbridge to pursue studies in a career which will ultimately benefit the community. This year’s recipient is Keegan Baldwin who will attend UMASS Amherst.

The William Stanley Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to Berkshire County students, has awarded grants to Nicole Chaves to attend Springfield College; Peter Choi to attend Brown University; and Kristina Reynolds to attend Southern Vermont College.

The Williams Academy and Williams High School Scholarship Funds provide awards to graduating seniors of Monument Mountain Regional High School. Scholarships were awarded to Keegan Baldwin, Brittany Farina, Sarah Lister, Shawna Norton, Sonrisa O’Toole, Travis Wilton, and Zachary Wilton.

To make a contribution to any of these funds or for information on grant deadlines, go online or call 413.229.0370.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of northwest Litchfield County, CT; Berkshire County, MA; and Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY, acting as an agent for positive change in the region. Since 1987, Berkshire Taconic has managed a growing collection of charitable funds created by individuals, families and businesses. Each year, the foundation distributes over $7 million through grants and scholarships for programs in the arts and education, health and human services and environmental protection, helping thousands of donors achieve their philanthropic goals and hundreds of nonprofits carry on their good work. Berkshire Taconic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity.

###