Maine Island Students Receive Scholarships

Honorees met at the Samoset. Nancy Griffin

The Island Institute has announced the recipients of the 2007 Maine Island Higher Education Scholarship, with more than $66,000 in grants -- a record amount -- awarded to 57 island residents who will be attending post-secondary institutions this fall.

Awardees were honored at a luncheon on June 28 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. Scholarship awards range from $250 to $5,000. The awards are designated for unbridged-island residents who are attending post-secondary education at a two- or four-year college, university, or vocational/technical institution.

Award decisions were made by a panel of island community members and Island Institute staff, who scored each applicant based on academic achievement, employment, extracurricular activities, a personal statement, and special circumstances. Students can apply for and renew this scholarship every year if they are enrolled full-time in a collegiate program.

The winners of this year's scholarships are:
Chebeague Island: Katie Phipps, Loretta Hamilton, Viktoria Johnson
Cranberry Isles: Martha Grey, Seth Gray, Rachel Thomas, Emily Thomas, Christina Spurling, Marya Spurling, Curtis Thormann, Meagan Blank
Great Diamond: Brenden Meyers
Islesboro: Rory Diffin, Nathan Gorham, Colin Schmidt, Johnathan Cunningham, Caitlin Anderson, Thomas Tutor, Jonathon Bolduc, Joel Grindle, David Pike
Long Island: Lauren MacVane, Gabriel Horr, Zachary Whitener
Monhegan: Jessica Schnell
North Haven: Emmett Hodder, Suzanne Stone, Sarah Newman
Peaks: Charles Friedman, Wesley Norton, Ella Shaw, Katherine Radis, Molly Radis, Oceana Schiff-Buxton, Sophi Presgraves, Michael Whitman, James Walsh, Robert Walsh, Jackman Wood, Alexander Kinner
Swans: Micah May, Christina Staples, Eric Staples, Jenny Turner
Vinalhaven: Oakley Jackson, Emma Rosen, Shannon Michael, Flora Drury, Cassie Bennard, Nicole Osgood, Meagan Davidson, Niall Conlan, Briana Mae Conlan, Farley Mesko, Eric Beckman, Philip Hopkins, Annie Gross

The following special awards recognized distinctive achievements:

The Academic & Community Leadership Scholarship, a one-time $5,000 award: Wesley Norton, Peaks, the top graduating senior who partners civic leadership with academic achievement; an outstanding scholar and member of the community who serves as a leader for his peers.

The Shaw Fund for Mariners' Children $5,000 award to the mariner's child with the highest GPA: Curtis Thormann, Islesford

The Otter Island Fund awards of $5,000 per year to students attending a select group of colleges, universities and preparatory schools: Flora Drury, Vinalhaven, attending Connecticut College; Joseph Charpentier, Frenchboro, attending Northfield-Mount Hermon

The Seth Jordan Memorial Fund, an additional $1,000 award to the graduating high-school senior residing in Casco Bay with the highest GPA: Brenden Myers, Great Diamond. q

For further information about Island Institute scholarship programs, please visit the Institute's website at www.islandinstitute.org or contact Ruth Kermish-Allen, Education Outreach Officer, at the (207)594-9209 x. 117 or rallen@islandinstitute.org.