Portsmouth Rotary awards scholarships to local graduates

The Rotary Club of Portsmouth annually awards scholarships to local graduating high school seniors. Despite the many challenges of this year’s pandemic, the club will distribute $39,000.

Thirteen students were selected to each receive $3,000 to help with their college expenses.

Students were required to complete an online application. Finalists were then selected and later interviewed during a Zoom committee meeting. According to scholarship committee co-chairs Lindsey Reid and Tristan Shanley, Rotarians were particularly impressed with the students’ optimism and expressions of hope, during such an uncertain time. They reiterated all applicants were more than deserving, often balancing school, sports, volunteerism and part time work, with grace.

The popular in-person awards ceremony at the Portsmouth Country Club was canceled in light of COVID-19. The winners were announced in the weekly virtual meeting of the club on May 28. Portsmouth Rotarians have continued their weekly Thursday meetings, through Zoom, since March.

Congratulations to the selected winners (all are Portsmouth High School graduates unless otherwise noted):

Bill Genimatas Scholarship: Jacob Boutin, Suffolk University

Joseph J. Shanley Scholarship:

Lillian Murray, University of New Hampshire

RIley Huneke, University of Southern Maine

Jack Russo, St. Lawrence University

Kathleen McCafferty, North Carolina State University in Raleigh

Rotary Club of Portsmouth Scholarship

Rachel Goldberg, Colby College

Austin Phan, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Brown University

Emma Savage, UNH

Adison Scully, College of Charleston

Emma Katona, Lesley University

Jenifer Sidhwa, UNH

Ella Lukacz, UNH

Gemma Pohl, University of Miami

For more information on the Rotary Club of Portsmouth, visit portsmouthrotary.org.