Wayland Resident Mark Bonner Receives $1,000 Scholarship from Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation

Grants Totaling $35,000 go to Area Graduates from 25 Communities and 30 Public, Charter, and Vocational High Schools

NATICK, MA – July 21, 2013 – Dana M. Neshe, President of the Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation, has announced that Wayland resident Mark Bonner is one of 30 students from public, charter and vocational high schools in the area to receive a $1,000 scholarship grant from the foundation.

Bonner, a graduate of Wayland High School, was captain of both football and basketball as a senior. The football team was a finalist in the 2012 Eastern Massachusetts Division Three Super Bowl, and the basketball squad was a North Sectional playoff finalist. Bonner has enrolled at Bentley University, where he plans to continue his football career and major in business.

Each of 30 schools nominated a scholarship recipient based on criteria that included academic merit, financial need, community service and personal improvement. The Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation was established in 2000 through an endowment provided by Middlesex Savings Bank to ensure funding of scholarships and worthy non-profits in any economic climate. Over $325,000 has been distributed to date through the scholarship program.

The Foundation also announced that Victoria Bernardini of Franklin is recipient of the seventh annual A. James Lavoie Scholarship. This $5,000 award is named in honor of Mr. Lavoie, former president of Middlesex Savings Bank, who was deeply committed to the support of education. Bernardini, a graduate of Franklin High, will attend UMass-Dartmouth.

An independent committee selected Bernardini for the Lavoie Scholarship for her essay in response to “If you could do one thing to improve the quality of life in your community, what would it be and how would you do it?”

Bernardini’s solution was “High School Journey…Seriously,” a peer-to-peer seminar series in which upperclassmen would counsel younger students on how to fully realize their own academic potential through consistent effort. Reasoning that teens are more receptive to advice from older students than from adults, she envisions a program that entails personal goal-setting, understanding what is expected of them, and how to make the most of class participation and homework, among many others.

A program like “High School Journey…Seriously” would have been especially helpful to her, Bernardini wrote, because she has been a learning-disabled student since grade school. While she worked hard to overcome her dyslexia, she struggled academically because she did not take her studies seriously until she was a high school junior.

“High school students often live in the moment and let academics slip. Both my teachers and parents expected good grades from me, but often the message did not get through. I believe I would have been receptive to some friendly advice and guidance from an informed peer,” she wrote.

Bernardini’s plan envisioned a series of seminars by a cadre of senior-class volunteers who would explain the school’s academic expectations and stress the importance of setting high standards – including consistent class participation, homework, cumulative grade point average and SAT scores – beginning in freshman year. College admissions advisors and local employers would also be invited to participate.

“We’re pleased to award the A. James Lavoie Scholarship to Victoria Bernardini, and we are happy to assist Mark Bonner and the many other deserving young people who received scholarship aid this year. We’re proud of all of them and we wish them all the best on the next phase of their journeys,” said Neshe.

Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation 2013 Scholarship Award Recipients

Seventh Annual A. James Lavoie $5,000 Scholarship

Victoria Bernardini, Franklin High School.  To attend UMass-Dartmouth

$1,000 Scholarship Award Recipients

High School: Student, Hometown; College

 Acton-Boxborough Regional: Ryan Small.                    Boxborough; Endicott College

Algonquin Regional: Josue Deleon,                        Northborough; Worcester State

Advanced Math & Science Academy: Fiorella Portal-Venturi, Framingham; Worcester State

Ashland High: Phoebe Kurriss, Ashland;      Bridgewater State

Assabet Valley Regional:Morgan Parmeter, Maynard; Merrimack College

Bellingham High: Megan Kenney, Bellingham;         Univ. of New England

Blackstone Valley Regional: Gabriela Rosa,           Milford; Assumption

Concord-Carlisle: Jack Struck, Concord;              American University

Framingham High: Colin Moran, Framingham; University of New Haven

Framingham High – Resiliency for Life: Melanye Fontenelle, Framingham; Mass Bay

Franklin High:Katherine Nazzaro, Franklin; Bridgewater State

Groton-Dunstable Regional: Jamie Park, Groton; UMass-Amherst

Holliston High: Jacob McLinden, Holliston; UNH

Hopkinton High:Jaclyn Chirco, Hopkinton; Assumption

Joseph P. Keefe Technical:Jonathan Montanez, Framingham;TBD

Lincoln-Sudbury: Adam Bradley,Sudbury; UMass

Littleton High:Garrett Essman, Littleton; University of Vermont

Maynard High: Colby LeSage, Maynard; Bridgewater State

Medfield High: Scott Todd, Medfield:  Florida Institute of Technology 

Medway High: Madison Holland, Medway; Simmons College

Milford High: Madeline Parsons, Milford;Worcester State 

Millis High: Matthew Fife, Millis; Westfield State

Nashoba Valley Technical: Aaron Febbi, Westford; UMass-Amherst

Natick High: Timothy Sakharov, Natick: Northeastern

Needham High: Julie Weinberg-Connors, Needham;  Beloit College

Tri-County Regional: Abigail Gay,Medway; Wheelock College

Wayland High: Mark Bonner, Wayland; Bentley

Wellesley High: Amanda Harkavy, Wellesley; Dartmouth

Westford Academy: Emily Morency, Westford; Elon University

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