Rotary Club of Westfield Presents $84,500 to College-Bound Scholars

Westfield Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Margaret Dolan and high school principal, Peter Renwick, were honored guests June 5th as the Westfield Rotary Club Foundation presented 19 local college-bound students with scholarships totaling $84,500 at the organization’s annual Scholarship Awards Luncheon held at the Westfield Area YMCA.  

Liz Ensslin, chairperson of the foundation’s scholarship committee, presided over the scholarship presentations in collaboration with the selection committee comprised of Rotarians Nancy Jackson, Marcus Millet, Mary Ellen O’Boyle, Lowell Schantz, Margaret Subhas and Dr. Elaine Swingle. Criteria for consideration, according to Ensslin, are based on academic achievement, service to the community and financial need. Recipients must be residents of the town who are graduating seniors enrolled in an accredited high school.

Ray Kostyack, who is chairman of the Rotary foundation board, states that more than $2.3 million has been awarded to Westfield scholars since the inception of the scholarship fund in 1923. He explains, “Rotary’s group of scholarships are financed by proceeds from the club’s yearly Pancake Breakfast and Grand Raffle and a managed fund comprised of donations and bequests by Rotarians, their families and friends. The club foundation’s Scholarship Committee also administers several scholarships on behalf of the community-based Westfield Foundation.”  

On behalf of The Westfield Foundation, two top scholarships were awarded in memory of Charles and Florence Wallace totaling $15,000 each to be paid over the course of four years. They went to Jason Isbit who will attend the University of St. Andrews in Scotand and to Rory Fitzpatrick who will attend Princeton University. A $10,000 scholarship honoring Westfield Rotarians Living and Deceased was awarded to Keyanna Simmons who will attend Howard University.  

A scholarship in Memory of Rotarian Harry Sturcke valued at $5,000 went to Katrina Kudlick who will attend the University of Southern California. A Sturcke scholarship combined with one in Memory of Linda Read for a student preparing for a career in the health sciences totaling $5,000 was presented by Pamela and David Read to Michael Mondon who is going to the University of Rochester.  Jason Qin also received a $5,000 combination of Sturcke and Linda Read memorial scholarships. He will attend Princeton University. Alexandra Jason was presented with a $3,000 Linda Read scholarship; she will attend Oberlin College.

The Winifred and Robert Read Law Scholarship was presented by Ms. Read and Mr. Read to Kathryn Fazio who will attend Rutgers University. She receives $3,000. Matias Werner will attend Cornell University and received $2,000 from Rotary in Memory of Weyman Steengrafe.    

The $2,500 Scholarship in Memory of Chester A. Gerdes, a fund managed by the Westfield Foundation, was presented to Sarah Chandler who will attend Colgate University. Kavita Mehta, who will attend Carnegie Mellon University, and Madeline Chandler who will attend Dickinson College each received $2,500 Sturcke scholarships.

Wallace $2,500 scholarships were awarded to Kevin Ingram, who is headed for The College of New Jersey, and to Thomas Wolski who will attend Ramapo College. John Kirna, who is going to Bucknell University, received $2,500. Sarah Ramire, who will attend Providence College, received $2,000 honoring Rotarians Living and Deceased. Leonides Tolias received the $1,500 Scholarship in Honor of Emerson Thomas and will go to Princeton University. Receiving $1,500 scholarships in Honor of Rotarians Living and Deceased were Zachary Goldfarb, who is going to Rutgers University and Markian Borkowsky for Boston University.  

If you have any questions about our scholarship program or would like help getting one off the ground for your club, please contact Liz Ensslin at liz@westfieldrotary.com or 908-272-8090.