Stamford Athlete Wins Leadership Scholarship
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Tegan O'Neill of Stamford, Vt.; Miss Hall's School
O'Neill has won numerous gold medals as a figure skater in the Bay State Winter Games. She is a high honors student in the top 5 percent of her class at Miss Hall's in Pittsfield. She is also a member of the Cum Laude Society, school secretary on the Jucidial Committee, editor of the school newspaper, and a contributor to the Big/Little Sister program.
Kendra Cheng of Franklin; Bishop Feehan High School
Cheng has been an outstanding contributor in the classroom and pool at Bishop Feehan. The swim team captain is state champion in the 200-meter individual medley, 100 butterfly and 4x50 freestyle relay and holds six school records. As a result, she was named to the Boston Herald and Boston Globe All-Scholastic teams. Not to be outdone by her athletic accomplishments, academically Cheng ranks in the top one percent of her class as a straight-A student and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is vice president of the Math Honor society, president of MOVE Club and a geometry tutor. The Franklin native also organizes and conducts free swim clinics at her local YMCA.
Connor MacKenzie of Harvard; Groton School
MacKenzie transferred to the Groton School at the beginning of his junior year and quickly became one of the school's top leaders. The Harvard resident serves as treasurer of the student council, president of the InvenTeam, and head coordinator of the tutoring program. He is also a member of the the National Honor Society, and French and Spanish clubs. Named lacrosse captain for his senior season, MacKenzie was also a two-time state champion in soccer at the Bromfield School.
Zachary Price of Franklin; Franklin High School
Price is a three-sport athlete at Franklin High: captain of the basketball team, starting pitcher in baseball and backup quarterback on the football team. Possessing great leadership skills, he has served as class president for all four years of high school. The honors student also is a member of the prom committee and is a peer leader. He does this all while holding down a part-time job.
Matt Sherman of Burlington; Burlington High School
Sherman, a wrestling captain at Burlington High School, has won multiple state championships including a fourth-place finish at the New England Championships. This high honors student ranks 11 in his class of 250. The Burlington resident volunteers at The Boston Home for multiple sclerosis patients and is a peer tutor. He is also a member of the student government and Students Against Destructive Decisions.
Emily Theurer of Burlington; Burlington High School
Theurer is a straight-A student who ranks third in her class of 250 and is a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Club. She is a winning figure skater, spending several hours a day, six days a week, on the ice practicing and as an instructor. Despite her busy schedule, she has found time to give back as president of the Community Service Club and a peer mentor. She also recently had the opportunity to travel to Asia as part of the Pathway to China program.
Applications for the scholarship were submitted by Bay State Games athletes who were in the 11th grade as of the 2008-09 academic year. All applications were reviewed by Bay State Games staff and board members, before a pool of 18 were asked to interview. Six students from that pool were selected to receive a $2,000 scholarship. Over the past 18 years, the Verizon Future Leaders Scholarship program has distributed over $200,000 to students.
The scholarship winners will be recognized at a future Bay State Games event. For more information on the Verizon Future Leaders Scholarship and the Bay State Summer Games, visit www.baystategames.org.
