Six area students have received an increase in their college fund, courtesy of the
Baystate Wing Hospital Auxiliary. The hospital’s volunteer group recently presented $6000 in scholarships to area high school students pursuing careers in healthcare.
Each year the scholarships are financed by the hard work and dedicated fundraising efforts of the hospital’s Auxiliary members. These activities include vendor fairs, lotto calendar sales and gift shop proceeds. The Auxiliary provides scholarships each year to graduating high school seniors in Belchertown, Ludlow, Monson, Palmer, Ware and Wilbraham who are pursuing higher education in a healthcare field.
A committee reviews the applications of area students in April of each year to select students who this year will each receive a $1000 scholarship. The 2019 scholarship award recipients include: Alex Szarloiski from Belchertown High School who will be pursuing a degree in nursing, Ethan Provost from Ludlow High School who will be pursuing a degree in anesthesiology, Jessica Smith from Minnechaug High School who will be pursuing a degree in nursing, Kaitlyn Santos from Monson High School who will be pursuing a degree in pediatrics, Joseph Lombardi from Palmer High School who will be pursuing a degree in nursing and Shelby Tweedie from Ware High School who will be pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering.
The students were chosen based on their academic excellence, volunteer efforts and related community service, work experience, and dedication to their goals.
“We are extremely proud of these students and grateful to the Baystate Wing Hospital Auxiliary members for their continued dedication to our hospital and our communities,” said Ursula St. Amand, chairman of the scholarship committee. “These scholarships are an investment in our area youth and will help to build a healthcare workforce for the future.”
For over 65 years, the Auxiliary has been actively supporting Baystate Wing Hospital through their sponsorship of special events and management of the gift shop. This diverse group of women and men include teachers, nurses, business owners, both young and retirees, who live in many different communities and are united by a shared commitment to support the mission of the hospital.
“We are thankful to the Auxiliary members for their continued commitment and support,” said Teresa Grove, philanthropy officer for Baystate Health’s Eastern Region. “In addition to these annual scholarships, the Auxiliary recently raised $200,000 for the
Baystate Wing Emergency Department capital campaign.”