SOMERVILLE_On Thursday, June 5th, one of our most gratifying meetings of our year was held at the Burren Restaurant and Pub in Davis Square. Our annual scholarship awards meeting was held to celebrate and award twelve amazing Somerville High School graduates with a $1000 scholarship each. Eleven of the twelve graduates were able to join us for today’s meeting.
The scholarships were awarded to:
1. The Gerry Donahoe Memorial Scholarship was presented to Jaylee Whalen.
2. The Paul O. Kelly Memorial Scholarship was presented to Ambika Bhardwaj.
3. The Larry Post Memorial Scholarship was presented to Kerby Luxama.
4. The Pauline D’Aurora Memorial Scholarship was presented to Francisco Santos Landaverde.
5. Giselle Altamiranda
6. Thiago Betti
7. Maria Costa
8. Elle Gys
9. Mashruf Mahin
10. Manjot Singh
11. Kaylie Wen
12. (Unable to attend)
These amazing graduates will be attending colleges and universities near and far including Harvard University, Boston College, Northeastern University, University of Southern California, University of Massachusetts / Amherst , Fitchburg State University, Salem State University and Bunker Hill Community College among others.
Somerville Police Chief Shumeane Benford also attended and addressed the recipients.
These scholarships are made possible each year by the generous support of our members and friends through our Lucky K program chaired by past president Charlie Ball and grants from the Somerville Kiwanis Scholarship Foundation.
President Tom Austin and Co-President Dawn Austin thanked the committee for their diligent work selecting these twelve recipients from among fifty-one applicant essays. The committee, chaired by Past President Tony Ciccariello, included Distinguished Past President David O’Brien, Past President Isaac Machado and Past President Charlie Ball.
To learn more about the Kiwanis Club of Somerville, visit out web page, http://www.somervillekiwanis.org or like out Facebook Page Kiwanis Club of Somerville
It’s heartwarming to see the Kiwanis Club of Somerville awarding these well-deserved scholarships to such a bright group of graduates. As these students head off to universities like Harvard, Boston College, and Northeastern, many of them will encounter demanding research projects and data-driven assignments. For those pursuing STEM or social sciences, having the right tools can make a huge difference in presenting their findings clearly. I recently came across a versatile scientific illustration platform that allows you to generate professional diagrams, data visualizations, and flowcharts in minutes without needing to write code, and it exports to SVG for further editing. It could be a real time-saver for anyone preparing academic posters or papers.
It’s wonderful to see the Kiwanis Club of Somerville recognizing these talented graduates with scholarships. The diversity of their future colleges shows how much potential is in our local community. For any of these students heading to schools like Harvard or Northeastern, picking up a new language can be a great way to expand their cultural horizons, especially if they plan to study abroad or work with international peers. I’ve found that gamified practice really helps with retention and makes learning less of a chore. Resources like fun Chinese learning games offer an immersive approach that could benefit anyone looking to learn Chinese as a side skill during college.
It’s inspiring to see how the Kiwanis Club continues to invest in the future of Somerville through these scholarships. Recognizing such a diverse group of students heading to schools across the country really highlights the strength of the community’s support system. The Lucky K program sounds like a great initiative that deserves more visibility—would love to learn more about how it works!