The Martha's Vineyard Rotary Club should be very proud of another successful Scholarship program in 2020. This is our seventh year in cooperation with the Bardwell Family, to offer a two thousand dollar scholarship to a student from Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. This year, in spite of the Corona crisis, our Scholarship has grown. Two years ago, the Board of Rotary voted to expand the program. When the student is selected, he or she may apply for additional funding each year they remain in school. The scholarship for the recipient has been expanded from $2000,00 to $5,000 over a four year period.
This year, 19 students applied for the Scholarship and seven students were interviewed via Zoom. We had outstanding candidates and the committee was very impressed with the quality and caliber of students who had applied. Our scholarship process is very unique since we incorporate many variables and requirements that other scholarships do not require. Specifically, within the application process, students in addition to their academic standing, must respond to specific questions, submit 3 recommendations and demonstrate a clear relationship to Rotary's motto, "Service to Others, Above Self". The applications are reviewed by the Committee and then students were selected for an interview with the Committee. It is a very comprehensive process and we are very pleased to announce that Imani Hall was selected as the recipient of the Martha's Vineyard Rotary/Diana Bardwell Scholarship. Imani as indicated will be eligible for additional funding after her first year.
We plan to have a future discussion regarding additional options for students who have successfully completed their programs and have demonstrated clear indicators of Service to Others. However, in terms of all the variables may not be as comparable to others who had applied. Yet, Rotary was very pleased that we are receiving a range of students interested in applying for our Scholarship. I would like to thank the following Rotarians for their dedication and commitment of time: Stephanie Burke, Rosemary Blair, Tom Rosenthal, Colleen Garrett, Joan Dunayer, Jennifer Neary, and Ann Hunt. Thanks to the Bardwell Family, the support from the community and High School.
- Submitted by Dr. Rolfe Wenner, Chairman of the Scholarship Committee