The Wellesley Historical Society Board of Directors is pleased to announce the creation of the Wellesley Historical Society Scholarship Fund.
WHS Scholarship Mission Statement“The Wellesley Historical Society’s Scholarship Fund mission is to inspire public involvement in and appreciation of Wellesley’s heritage and culture to Wellesley Youth in their endeavor to further their studies via trade school, two year or four year institutions”
The Wellesley Townsman and MetroWest Daily News have reported on the Scholarship Fund and how it was started.
The fund is managed by the Wellesley Scholarhip Foundation on behalf of the Historical Society. The Wellesley Scholarship Foundation has provided financial assistance to college and trade school bound Wellesley students through need and merit-based scholarships since 1951. Their dedication and experience are welcomed by the WHS Scholarship Fund.
Ten-percent of monies collected by fund raisers for Wellesley Historical Society will be allocated to the benefit of the Scholarship Fund. For further information and to learn how to lend your support for the further education of Wellesley Youth please contact the society at scholarship@wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org.
Outgoing Society president John Schuler presented the awards to Jeffrey ver Planck and Luci Lafitte in June of 2008 at our Annual Dinner. Both are presently students at Carnegie Mellon.
Ten-Percent of the Proceeds from Society Events Go to Fund
The Society’s scholarship program was proposed by Wellesley Historical Society board member Jim Marcotte and his wife, Kim Dow, and has been successfully established. Board members Jerry Murphy and Andrea Valente were part of the scholarship committee, which set guidelines for the awards.
The purpose of the awards is to “inspire public involvement in and appreciation of Wellesley’s heritage and culture to Wellesley youth in their endeavor to further their studies via trade school, two-year or four-year institutions.” By establishing the scholarship awards, the Society is also hoping to diversify its membership and increase the participation of children and families.
A generous and much appreciated grant from board member Suzanne Frederick started the scholarship fund rolling, to which ten percent of the proceeds from all Society events are now dedicated.
Under the auspices of the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation, two Wellesley High School students were chosen to receive the Society’s 2008 scholarship awards.
Jeff, at left, graduated from Wellesley High School in June 2007. Shortly after starting at Carnegie Mellon last fall, Jeff had to take a medical leave of absence, but he is now ready to return to Carnegie Mellon and to pursue his dream of majoring in industrial design. While in high school, Jeff was involved with several community service projects and participated in the Science Olympiad for three years. He also completed an internship at MIT, has taken courses on robotics through the TEC program, and was the recipient of the Digital Antiweb Design Award.
Luci is a 2008 graduate of Wellesley High School whose creativity is balanced and complemented by her discipline and strong intellect. These qualities are reflected in her successful academics, where she carried a full honors load with AP courses, and in the strong artistic vision she brought to her work in the drawing and painting and in other design courses. Luci has also made her mark in track, where she was a five-time team MVP winner, a Bay State All Star, and recently achieved a personal best and set a school record in the 100 hurdles. Luci will head off in the fall to the industrial design program at Carnegie Mellon.
The Society is pleased to be able to make these scholarship awards to Wellesley students and hopes to continue doing so for many years to come.