The Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund (BRSAF) awarded 53 scholarships totaling $187,500 at the high school’s annual Awards Night May 31. Fifteen went to graduating seniors bound for college this fall and 38 are going to previous graduates now in college or graduate school.

BRSAF President Rob Wheeler announced that the minimum scholarship had been raised from last year’s $250 to $1000. 

Of the total 53 scholarships, nine went to current or past graduates going to the University of Maine at Orono, four to Southern Maine University,  three to Goucher College and two each to Bowdoin College, Maine Maritime Academy, Husson College and the University of Vermont. Other schools included Cornell, Marymount, Mt. Holyoke, Boston College, Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, N.Y.) the New School (NYC). See complete listing below.

“Major” fields of study ranged from nursing, dental hygiene, acupuncture and cosmetology to vessel operations and automotive technology to aeronautical science, neuroscience, forensic psychology, criminal justice, earth science, marine biology and biomedical engineering. Degrees in general business management, equine business management and tourism management were to be pursued. Liberal arts included history of theater, music, anthropology and literary studies. Education included majors in early childhood and elementary education.

Wheeler noted at the May 31 awards ceremony that growing generous support from the community had allowed BRSAF to increase its minimum scholarship award to $1,000. Annual giving donations were received from 467 area residents the past academic year ending May 31 vs. 418 during 2010-11, raising $68,663 vs. $59,602 prior year. Another 40 donated $40,462 to existing scholarship funds vs. $25,453 prior year. This helped raise total awards for 2012-13 from $180,000 each of the past two years to $187,500,

Wheeler stressed that  “aid to our graduates entering or continuing in higher education is absolutely critical given not only increasing tuition costs way above the rate of inflation and but also the dangerous trend of both students and parents accumulating massive debt to cover those costs.” He noted BRSAF scholarships include funds to help service student debt.  

The average BRSAF award for the academic 2012-13 year rose from $2,900 to $3,500 with the maximum award capped at $10,000. Scholarships were awarded to every eligible applicant this year with “unmet need.” Unmet need is that amount still facing a college or graduate student not covered by college aid and other grants, student loans and expected contributions by the student’s family. Colleges use a federal formula, used in determining Pell Grants, to helping to determine unmet need.

BSAF was also able to raise the average percentage of unmet need covered in its scholarships for 2012-13 from 25 percent to 30 percent, ranging from 23 percent for freshmen to 38 percent for college seniors and graduate students. BRSAF awards scholarships in increasing amounts as a student matriculates into higher college classes and graduate school to offset the higher costs of those years, particularly debt service on accumulating loans.

BRSAF is a chapter of the national organization Dollars for Scholars which has enabled BRSAF to receive additional scholarship funds. Several colleges are Matching Partners with Dollars for Scholars and provide matching grants, leveraging BRSAF dollars raised locally.

Following is a list of the students awarded scholarships and the schools they will be attending this fall (with majors if known). The list starts with Named Scholarships (40) – up by either this year -- given by area residents or in honor or memory of loved ones or local organizations. These scholarships require a minimum $10,000 gifted or committed. There follow Sustaining Scholarships (7) which are supported, not with endowment, but with a long-term commitment to contribute $1,000 annually.

Finally, six BRHS graduates currently in college or graduate school received regular BRSAF scholarships. They differed from Named and Sustaining Scholarships only in that their funding came out of BRSAF’s general funds (annual giving plus endowment income). Anyone interested establishing a Named or Sustaining Scholarship to fund one these six scholarships for this coming academic year and in future are encouraged to contact BRSAF President William Bailey at 633-2548 or Vice President Ham Meserve at 633-5666.

The Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund congratulates the winners of its 53 scholarships for 2012-13 and their parents and thanks all of the generous area donors who have made these scholarships possible.

Named Scholarships

Tim Allen Memorial – Lindsay Reny, freshman, Capilo Institute, cosmetology
American Legion Post 36—Chase Brown, freshman, Colby College, major undecided
Julia L. Berry Memorial – Sally Monroe, senior, University of Maine at Orono, early childhood education
Boothbay Region Garden Club—Wyatt Anthony, freshman, Montana State University, earth sciences
Ron Calhoun Rotary Club –Danielle Lorrain, junior, Marymount University, politics
Martha Campbell Memorial—Amanda Babcock, 2nd year graduate school, New England College, education
George & Ann Cochrane-- Rosaline Campbell, freshman, Boston University, biomedical engineering
Paul Coulombe—Victoria Ripley, junior, University of Maine at Orono, business administration
John Dix & Charlotte Druce Memorial—Dana Emberley, senior, Plymouth State University, tourism management
Irene & Butler Eames Fund for the Arts – Rose Beverley, senior, Burlington College, graphic design
Fannie Forbes—Christine Jewett, freshman, University of New England, dental hygiene
Eva Giles Granger—Andrew Bosio, freshman, High Point University, chemistry & secondary education
Jack & Marge Hanselman Memorial—Matthew Forgues, junior, Goucher College, psychology
Priscilla Haerriman Teacher—Nicole Tibbetts, junior, Thomas College, elementary education
Ruth Hartford Memorial—Avery Laderer, freshman, University of Vermont, English
Jane & Ted Heidenreich—Thomas Brown, freshman, Hartwick College, major undecided
Lloyd Jacobs Memorial—Morgan Mitchell, senior, Goucher College, anthropology & sociology
The Julie Fund—Rachael Reed, senior, Thomas College, criminal justice
Ralph & Gertrude Karger Music—Kahla Vise, freshman, Bowdoin College, music, chemistry
Eliza Kinsey Memorial--Brooke Chaney, senior, St Louis University, nursing.
Charles & Betty Koch—Nellie Kelly, sophomore, University of Maine at Orono, history and music theater
Mel & Eleanor Knox Lions Club Memorial—Sarah Perry, freshman, Stephen’s College, equine business management
Jennifer Larsen—Nicholas Deniger, freshman, Central Maine Community College, criminal justice
Orin Leach—Lindsey Lord, sophomore, St. Joseph’s College, nursing
J. Blenn Perkins Jr. & Patricia A. Perkins Memorial—Tallie Colcord, senior, Keene State College, education
Michael & Penelope Pollard—Katherine Landry, freshman, State College of Florida, dental hygiene
Kathryn Campbell Reed Memorial— Aleksandra Smith, junior, Mt. Holyoke College, neuroscience
Manley Reed Juniper Point Memorial— Adam Sproul, sophomore, Southern Maine Community College, automotive technology
Hernan & Delores Reyes—Cody Barry, junior, Pratt Institute, communications & designs
Arthur Ridlon Memorial—Katrina Wheeler, junior, Goucher College, forensic psychology
Royall Family Scholarship—Rhiannon L’Heureux, sophomore, University of Southern Maine, nursing
Marvin Rosenblum—James Johnson, junior, Eugene Lang College at the New School, literary studies
Frank L. Sample Jr. Memorial–Lauren Forgues, senior, University of Phoenix, business management
Southport Island Association— Jack Sherman, junior, Marine Maritime Academy, vessel operations technology
Jason Edwin Spinney Memorial—Erica Sproul, junior, University of Maine at Orono, nursing
Ellen Stafford – Joseph Sibley, junior, University of Southern Maine, theater
Molly & Gustaf Tenggren—Mary Fuller, senior, University of New Haven, dental hygiene
Ormand J. Wade—Kimberly Gordon, freshman, University of Maine at Orono, marine biology
Wilson Wilde—Susan Smith, sophomore, Cornell University, veterinary medicine
Eliot Winslow Memorial— Joseph Farrin, junior, Marine Maritime Academy, vessel operations technology

Annual Sustaining Scholarships

A. Cressey Morrison— Abagail Andrews, first year graduate student, New England School of Acupuncture, acupuncture
Friends of the Harbor Theatre— Andreas Panagore, sophomore, University of Maine at Farmington, music and the media
Eric Hodgdon Memorial—Andrew Goode, freshman, University of Maine at Orono, marine biology
Hodgdon Group LLC—Daniel Dickinson, sophomore, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, aeronautical science
Bill & Carol Ostermann—Nathaniel Schwehm, sophomore, Bowdoin College, environmental science
Cmd. Kenneth B. Russell, USN— Kristen Sibley, sophomore, University of Vermont, physical therapy
Rotary Club—Evelyn Tibbetts, sophomore, University of Maine, Orono, psychology

BRSAF General Scholarships

Sandra Barry, junior, University of Southern Maine, art & entrepreneurship
Eben Court, Eckerd College, senior, environment studies
Howard Friant III, senior, University of Maine at Orono, wood science & technology
Rebekah Glunt, first year graduate student at University of Maine at Orono, social work & women’s studies
Emmet Kelly, senior, University of Maine at Orono, forensic anthropology
Jacob Simmons, sophomore, Northwest College, Natural Resources & biology