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Pearl River Rotary Hands Out Annual Scholarship Awards

The Rotary Club of Pearl River's Scholarship Foundation gave 20 local students each received $2,000 awards from the Rotary's Scholarship Foundation

The Pearl River Rotary Club’s Scholarship Foundation presented its annual awards at a ceremony Thursday night at the Pearl River library.

The 20 students who either live in or attend school in Pearl River received awards of $2,000 each.

“I think it’s a great honor,” said Thomas Butterworth, a Pearl River High School senior who is one of the recipients. “The Rotary is a great organization, and it’s a lot of money, so it will definitely help out with school next year.”

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Each year the amount of scholarships given out depends on how much money is allocated by the Foundation. The Foundation has one fundraising outing each year, the Ed Bouton Golf Outing, which usually raises between $25,000 and $30,000 for the scholarships. The rest of the allocated money comes from the Foundation’s earnings throughout the year, not from the principle.

Prior to 1989, the Rotary Club would raise $1,000 or $2,000 a year for scholarships, but in that year Rotary Club member Robert Bergman came up with the idea to start a Foundation so that the Rotary could give out more money to deserving students. Another Rotarian, Bouton, then challenged the Foundation to raise $50,000 before the end of the year and said that if it did so he would match that total. The challenge was met, so in a few months the Foundation had $100,000.

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 “Anytime that we hold this, and we don’t mention the name Ed Bouton, then it’s invalid, because I believe that it was his vision to challenge the whole club […] and he put his own money on the line,” long-time Rotarian and Past District Governor Jeffrey Keahon said while introducing one of the award recipients.

To this date the foundation has given out around $250,000 in scholarships.

“Every year it seems to get better and better, and it’s a very rewarding experience for all of us in Rotary and outside of Rotary,” Rotary Club of Pearl River President Robert Simon said during the ceremony.

The Rotary Scholarship Awards Committee  decides who gets the awards each year. The students are chosen for the scholarships based on five criteria: academic success, financial need, extracurricular activities, community services, and special circumstances, such as being raised by a single parent or having a disability. Each student is given a certain number of points in each category, with financial need being worth the largest number of points . The students who have the highest score receive the scholarships. Students can re-apply for the scholarships up to three more times, and several of this year’s honorees had previously won one of the awards.

This year’s scholarship recipients are:

  • Vibin Parakkattu --  Ed Bouton Memorial Award. Parakkattu is a Pearl River High School alumnus who is currently attending SUNY-Stony Brook. He has received the award each of the last four years and vice president of Stony Brook Medical Brigade.
  • Annmarie Arsanious -- Joan A. Fury Memorial Award.  Fury’s husband Michael Fury, a Trustee of the Rotary Scholarship Foundation of Pearl River, started this award years ago because he felt women were not getting a fair shot at education compared to men. Arsanious is a student at SUNY-New Paltz  who is receiving this award for the second time. She has traveled to Egypt in the past to do some work as a missionary.
  • Jamie DeGennaro -- Donald and Betsy Brenner Scholarship Award. DeGennaro is graduating from Pearl River High School and is going to be a student at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, where she will study mechanical engineering. In high school, she played varsity softball and ran winter track. She participated in the marching band and the senior play.
  • Noreen Jordan -- Robert Beckerle Memorial Award. Jordan is also studying engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology, where she will be a sophomore. She is receiving the award for the second time and plays the piano and bagpipes.
  • Thomas Butterworth -- Pearl River High School Class of 1962 Award. Butterworth is graduating from Pearl River High School and will be attending Fordham University to study history and English. He was president of his school’s Model United Nation club last year. The award this year was dedicated to Art Ainsworth, a member of the class of 1962 who was a veteran of the Vietnam War. Ainsworth died this past year of Alzheimer’s Disease.
  • Michael D. Loughran III -- Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr. Class of 1961 Memorial Award. Ahlmeyer was a member of the Pearl River High School class of 1961 who graduated from Rockland Community College and then SUNY-New Paltz. He enlisted in the Marines after graduation and was killed in action his first day in Vietnam. His body is now buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Loughran III, who was absent from the ceremony, is going to be studying civil engineering at Manhattan College. He was a member of St. Joseph School’s student council and was also a counselor at a camp for special needs children.
  • John Redmond-- Gus Papas Memorial Award.  Redmond played football for Pearl River High School and has helped out with Rotary Club projects for many years.

Foundation Awards

  • Colleen Clarke -- Clarke was absent from the ceremony because she was upstate with her Pearl River High School girls lacrosse team for the state Class C semifinals. Clarke will be attending the University of Delaware and hopes to become a physical therapist. She also played varsity soccer and was part of the senior musical this past year.
  • Michele Coffey -- Coffey has received this award for the past three years. She is a student at Dominican College, where she is studying occupational therapy. She has volunteered for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and Relay for Life.
  • Neil Francis -- His award was given in memory of Eugene Fitzpatrick, who was a Rotarian for over 35 years and an original member of the Scholarship Committee. Fitzpatrick died earlier this year. Francis will be graduating from Pearl River High School and going to James Madison University and hopes to eventually become an attorney. He played varsity soccer and tennis and was a member of the Orangetown Youth Court.
  • Abigail Gazan -- Gazan will graduate from Pearl River High School and attend Palm Beach Atlantic College to study journalistic photography. She played junior varsity lacrosse and field hockey and was the photography editor for the high school yearbook. She also went to the Bahamas to construct a camp for people with HIV.
  • “I’m really just grateful for everything,” Gazan said after the ceremony. “Even applying for all the scholarships I’ve gotten to look back on everything and realize the important I’ve been a part of.”
  • Patricia Horan -- Horan will graduate from Albertus Magnus High School in Bardonia and will study nursing at University of Scranton. At Albertus she played varsity lacrosse and soccer and was the yearbook editor. She also plays the Irish fiddle and the tin whistle.
  • Allison Kleinberger -- Kleinberger will graduate from Pearl River High School and attend SUNY-Binghamton. She has been a camp counselor and a member of Rotary Interact and also helped rebuild a New Orleans school that was damaged in Hurricane Katrina.
  • Christopher R. Kondracki -- Kondracki will graduate from Pearl River High School and will be attending York College to study mechanical engineering. He has volunteered with Camp Venture and at the Rotary Club Soap Box Race.
  • Steven Lynn -- Lynn will be attending Fordham University and is interested in journalism. He has run spring and winter track and has also participated in a triathlon.
  • Margaret Moore -- Moore will graduate from Pearl River High School and will be attending Iona College. She was the captain of the varsity track team and was the star of the senior musical.
  • Stacey Rogers -- Rogers is a psychology student at Princeton University who previously received an award in 2009. She participated in a 5K run to raise money for breast cancer research and is also a swimming instructor.
  • Alexander Rudloff -- His award was in memory of Fred Schroeder, who was a member of the Rotary for many years. Rudloff will graduate from Pearl River High School and attend University of Georgia. He is the captain of the school’s varsity soccer team, a volunteer tutor, and a member of Students Against Destructive Decisions.
  • Ambika Tripathi -- Tripathi will graduate from Pearl River High School and attend Georgetown University to study psychology. She was involved in numerous clubs and organizations in high school, including Science Olympiad, youth government, and the varsity track team.
  • “I’m really honored to have this scholarship,” Tripathi said after the ceremony. “It means a lot. And I think it’s important to give back to the community, and hopefully when I come back from college I can do the same.”
  • Aparajita Tripathi -- Tripathi, the older sister of Ambika, is a student at Harvard University who received the award in 2009 and 2010 as well. She is part of the Harvard student newspaper and is fluent in English, Hindi, and French.
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