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Rotary Club of Nashua honors five students with scholarships

By Grace Pecci - Staff Writer | Jun 11, 2019

Nashua High School South senior Tejas Sathyamurthi addresses members of the Rotary Club of Nashua on Monday after being recognized as a recipient of the $10,000 Arsenault/Faucher Scholarship, payable over four years.

NASHUA – Adhering to its motto “service above self,” the Rotary Club of Nashua on Monday honored five students who are giving back to the community in an effort to better the world.

Rotary Club of Nashua Scholarship Committee Chair Jane Marquis presented about $30,000 worth of scholarships to the students during a Monday Rotary Club Luncheon. She described the day as one of the most rewarding and meaningful experiences the Rotary Club has.

“We are always in awe of just how well-rounded, how achieving and how motivated all these students are. All these candidates that come to us each year are just amazing. This year is no different,” Marquis said.

Four former scholarship recipients also attended the meeting to discuss where they are now and how their scholarship helped them.

Anson O’Young, a 2018 Nashua High School North graduate now studying biochemistry at Brown University, received a $3,000 scholarship from the Rotary Club last year.

Nashua High School South senior Sarah Ward thanks members of the Rotary Club of Nashua on Monday after learning that she is a recipient of a $10,000 scholarship, payable over four years. Ward will be attending Merrimack College in the fall to study human services and child development to become a licensed child life specialist.

“It made me enjoy my education instead of worrying about my looming student loans,” he joked.

In the last year, he said he has joined many clubs and met many people, with the goal in mind that he wanted to be generous. He volunteers in a food recovery network and tutors elementary school students, among other extracurriculars.

“College is freedom, and my advice to you is to use that freedom to choose to help others, to volunteer at local events, to assist organizations in need, to continue to do what has made you qualified to receive this scholarship in the first place,” O’Young told the scholarship recipients, adding that it brings peace and a sense of worth.

Another scholarship recipient, Shea Roe, who had to take a break from attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute due to health issues, gave thanks to the Rotary Club.

She called the scholarship she received a relief to her and her family, especially during her struggles with fibromyalgia.

Bishop Guertin High School senior Rachel Reardon speaks during the Monday meeting of the Rotary Club of Nashua, after being recognized as a recipient of a $2,850 scholarship from the club. Reardon will be heading to Villanova University to study political science and history, and has further plans to attend law school.

“The motto of the Nashua Rotary is ‘Service above Self’ and I’ve had so many people from so many different parts of my life go above and beyond to help me,” Roe said.

She told this year’s scholarship recipients, “Times can get tough and the things you face may feel insurmountable, but I promise that it will always get better. You just have to reach out when you fall, and you’ll find there’s so many people willing to catch you and help you back up.”

Roe will head back to Rensselaer in the fall to continue studying molecular biology.

Sam McIntyre, a 2016 scholarship recipient who is studying English at the College of William and Mary, shared all of the activities he’s involved with, including tutoring as a member of his school’s health outreach peer educators.

Maddy Duda, last year’s award recipient of the $10,000 Arsenault/Faucher Scholarship, shared the experience she’s had from attending Springfield College.

Bishop Guertin High School senior Meera Kurup was one of five students recognized Monday as recipients of scholarships from the Rotary Club of Nashua. Kurup received a $2,850 award. She will attend Brown University this fall to study computer science and public policy.

Duda is studying communication disorders and speech pathology, while tutoring and mentoring students, attending leadership conferences and taking part in her school’s freshmen orientation program.

“Without this generous scholarship there’s just so many things I wouldn’t be able to do at school this year that I’ve loved,” Duda said.

Following speeches by past recipients, the 2019 award recipients were recognized.

The following students received awards:

• Nashua High School South senior Tejas Sathyamurthi, recipient of the $10,000 Arsenault/Faucher Scholarship, payable over four years.

Miguel Conde, 27, on Monday receives the Rotary Club of Nashua’s Adult Learner Scholarship. He is a recent graduate of the Adult Learning Center’s HiSET program and will be attending the New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades in Manchester to become HVAC-certified.

Sathyamurthi is National Honor Society Member at Nashua High School South in Math, Science and Social Studies. He has taken part in regional math and science competitions, is a violinist and has received an award from the Yale Science and Engineering Association for his self-initiated research on the development of durable flame-retardant fabrics for the military. He will be attending Northeastern University in the fall and majoring in computer science.

• Nashua High School South senior Sarah Ward, recipient of a $10,000 award, payable over four years.

Ward has received awards for outstanding academic excellence for her past four years of high school. She is also highly involved in dance. She will be attending Merrimack College in the fall to study human services, child development and become a licensed child life specialist. She also served as South’s president of Rotary Interact.

• Bishop Guertin High School senior Rachel Reardon, recipient of a $2,850 award.

Reardon served as the president of Bishop Guertin’s Honor Society and she was a member of the school’s 2019 New Hampshire State Champion Mock Trial team. She will be heading to Villanova University to study political science and history, and has further plans to one day attend law school. She also plans on getting involved with community service when she goes away to school.

• Bishop Guertin High School senior Meera Kurup, recipient of a $2,850 award.

Kurup served as the president of her school’s National Honor Society, a co-captain of the varsity math team, a data and software engineer intern at Fidelity Investments and the creator and inventor of CodeIt girls, a nonprofit program designed to teach young girls computing concepts and to encourage them to pursue computer science, engineering and mathematics. She will attend Brown University this fall to study computer science and public policy.

• 27-year-old Miguel Conde, recipient of the Adult Learner Scholarship.

Conde is a recent graduate of the Adult Learning Center’s HiSET program. Though he has gone down a bumpy road in life, he wanted to keep learning. He also wanted to do more for his family, and went back to school to get his High School Equivalency Certificate. He will be attending the New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades in Manchester to become HVAC-certified.

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