Nick Berwick wanted to get involved in the community, so about three years ago he volunteered with the Pearl River Fire Department.
After this upcoming summer, Berwick is going to have to take a little break from his volunteer work. He will be starting his freshman year at Marist College in Poughkeepsie. There, Berwick plans to continue his goal of giving back and helping out the community by studying criminal psychology.
Berwick received a little help with his time in college Thursday from the Rotary Club of Pearl River. The soon-to-be Pearl River High School graduate was one of 20 students to earn a $2,000 scholarship.
“It’s going to help out my family and me a great deal,” Berwick said. “It means a lot and will help me further my education.”
Berwick said that when he’s home from school, he hopes to keep volunteering with the department.
Caitlin Lardaro is also graduating from Pearl River this year and received a scholarship Thursday, which will go toward her education at Brown University in Rhode Island.
“It’s a really great opportunity to help me further my education and allow me to go to the college I wanted to go to,” she said.
At Brown, Lardaro plans on studying biology and cognitive science.
The Rotary Scholarship Foundation of Pearl River, Inc. started in 1989. The money given out to students comes from the group’s earnings, according to Jim Trojan, president of the foundation. He said this year they received about 70 applications for the scholarships.
“It’s done as a blind test,” Trojan said. “We don’t have names, just the application and then it’s judged based on a few different things, like financial need, scholastic, extracurricular and community service.”
The scholarships were open to high school students and students already in college who live in the Pearl River School District.
2012 Rotary Scholarship Foundation of Pearl River, Inc. Scholarship Winners:
Pearl River High School Graduating Seniors
- Diana Elvira Barany (Gus Pappas Memorial Award)– will attend University of Scranton
- Nicholas Berwick – will attend Marist College
- Caitlin Lardaro – will attend Brown University
- Adrienne Ammirati – will attend University of Pittsburgh
- Katherine McLaughlin – will attend SUNY-Binghamton
- Amelia Marino – will attend Ithaca College
- Patrick Burke (Heinz Aldmeyer Jr. Class of 1961 Memorial Award)– will attend SUNY-Oneonta
- Thomas Sheridan (Ed Bouton Memorial Award) – will attend New York University
- Kelli Van Houten (PRHS Class of 1962 Scholarship Award)– will attend Dominican College
- Molly Powers – will attend University of Scranton
- Jared Schlosser (Robert Beckerle Memorial Award) – will attend Georgia Tech
Don Bosco High School Senior
- Kevin Mulligan – will attend Manhattan College
Nanuet High School Senior
- Ana Christine Gremli (Joan A. Fury Memorial Award) – will attend University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Albertus Manus Senior
- James Huber (Jeffrey Keahon Appreciation Award) – will attend Georgetown University
College Students
- Ambika Tripathi – Georgetown University
- Aparajita Tripathi – Harvard University
- Conor J. Brennan (Donald and Betsy Brenner Scholarship Award)– Manhattan College
- Vibin Parakkattu – SUNY-Stonybrook
- Stacey Rogers – Princeton University
- Michele Coffey – Dominican College
