VSAC awards $1.4 million in scholarships to high school seniors

WINOOSKI (May 21, 2020) –Vermont Student Assistance Corp. has announced it has awarded over $1.4 million in scholarships to graduating high school seniors to continue their education after high school. 

In addition to the scholarships for high school seniors, VSAC has also awarded over $4.6 million in scholarships to college students returning to school this fall.

VSAC administers 150 scholarships on behalf of state organizations, the federal government, civic groups, and individuals. Scholarships range from $500 to $12,500 and many are renewable for up to four years.

Scholarships—like grants—are financial aid that does not need to be paid back; however, scholarships, unlike grants, are competitive, meaning that eligible applicants vie for a limited number of awards. Scholarships are typically based on factors unique to each scholarship, including residency, degree program or major, academic achievement, extracurricular activities, and in some cases, financial need.

VSAC awarded 800 scholarships to 583 graduating seniors:

Addison County

Graduating seniors in Addison County received a total of $58,000 in scholarships.

At Fair Haven Union High School, 5 students received a total of $7,000: Kaitland Breen; Jonas Greene; Riley Ochs; Olivia Scher and Julianna Williams.

Six seniors at Middlebury Union High School received a total of $13,200, including Caleb Benz; Journey Larose; Jeffrey Lokatys; Cassie Stearns; Kassidy Sunderland and Mary Nagy-Benson.

At Mount Abraham Union High School 7 seniors received a total of $15,300: Rylee-Mae Mason; Charlotte Layn; Caroline Sodaro; Jessica Colbeth; Emma Campbell; Justice Green and Abigail Iliff.

The following 8 seniors at Vergennes Union High School received a total of $25,400: Leah Croke; Bethany Delgadillo; Marile Hunt; Emily Rooney; Robert Verburg; Brianna Billings; Abigail Bluteau and Eleni Brouillard. 

Bennington County

Seniors from Bennington County received a total of $23,300 in scholarships. At Arlington Memorial High School, Arianna Barrios received a $1,000 scholarship.

Meghan Curran, Leah Mowry and Sloan Pirie, seniors at Burr and Burton Academy, each received $1,000 scholarships.

At Drury High School in nearby North Adams, Mass., two Vermont seniors received $3,000: Quintin Demarsico and Madison Tatro.

Nine seniors at Mount Anthony Union High School received a total of $16,300: Taylor Cameron; Arianna Douglas; Hope Gahan; Aneesh Kamath; Wenonah Knapp; Ricardo Maikoo; Gabriel Niles; Patrick Watson and Zoe Welzanuk.

Caledonia County

High school seniors in Caledonia County received a total of $123,200 in scholarships.

At Blue Mountain Union High School, 13 students received $48,000 in scholarships: Lauryn Alley; Morgan Beck; Alivia Crum; Brookelyn Dennis; Hannah Dube; Katelynn Emerson; Devonte Gilmore; Olivia Houghton; Veronica Houghton; Trinity Lahaye; Caitlyn Loud; Davis Parker and Willow Schaefer.

Olivia Brimmer, a senior at Caledonia School, received $1,000, while Danville School’s Ashlin Hill and Jersey Gilman received $3,000.

At Hazen Union High School, 4 seniors will receive a total of $10,200 in scholarships: Mariana Considine; Audrey Grant; Joey Hall and Zoe Hislop.

Thirteen seniors at Lyndon Institute will receive a total of $28,600 in scholarships: Jasmin Baillargeon; Dominique Bandy; Dane Buckingham; Lauren Chamberlain; Sadie Chamberlain; Dakota Collins; Kelsey Locke; Jessica McAllister; Kirbie Nichols; Nash Nunn; Haley Ott; Natalie Potter and Cassidy Sherman. 

At Saint Johnsbury Academy, 28 seniors will receive a total of $35,500 in scholarships: Brittney Ailes; Caleb Anderson; Renee Audette; Lane Baldauf; Anthony Barnett; Katherine Blassingame; Alicia Choate; Leo Desrochers; Charles Fisher; Kieran Fletcher; Patrick Fox; Juliaunna Gary; Sophia Hendrick; Daegan Ignjatovic; Grace Ilsley-Greene; Cody Jarels; Grace Larocque; Allison Maher; Danierys Martinez Hernandez; Zoe Montague; Josephine Moulton; Delaney Payeur; Bailey Rinaldi; Olivia Robinson; Jericho Rutledge; Pema Sherpa; Kayla Talbot and Rudolph Wilson.

Chittenden County

Over 60 students received $159,800 in scholarships in Chittenden County.

At Burlington High School, 11 seniors will receive a total of $40,350 in scholarships: Hawa Abdi; Fatuma Abdulrahmanshuko; Ahmed Adan; Abdulkadir Ali; Prajal Gurung; Saniyah Hill; Kcmalinda Hlordsz; Roshan Magar; Chitsa Maung; Deborah Mmunga and Cecile Yangambi.

Seven seniors at Champlain Valley Union High School will receive a total of $21,400: Noah Allen; Dominic Begue; Matisse Begue; Lily Michalak; Mykala O’Farrell; Akylai Orozbekova and Jake Twarog.

At Colchester High School, 14 seniors will receive $19,000 in scholarships: Hannah Carpentier; Jordan Couture; Samuel Crowley; George Cummings; Alexis Cruickshank; Charles Cusson-Ducharme; Sierra Davis; Risthika Gurung; Nathan Lamphere; Jessica Laquerre; Thomy Mwali; Yacouba Ouattara; Lillie Reid and Elena Sasso.

Six seniors at Essex High School received $12,100 in scholarships: Allura Garciabuckler; Ines Horozovic; Dylan Jenot; Jason Smith; Emma Whitney and Nathan Wu.

Milton High School seniors William Devers, Alexis Drown, Karen Hamilton, Alex Landry and Megan Rippie will receive a total of $21,550 in scholarships.

Joshua Keough, a senior at Mount Mansfield Union High School will received $1,000 scholarship.

At South Burlington High School, 8 seniors received a total of $15,800 in scholarships: Carissa Casey; Nicolas Desranleau; Tenzin Dhondup; Kelly Eddy; Charly Kabedi; Hannah Larose; Shea O’Connor and Azarel Roque.

At Winooski High School, 13 seniors will receive a total of $26,500 in scholarships: Maryam Alchaderchi; Xavier Clark; Kusa Daud; Dhiraj Dhakal; Sophia Do; Ali Hussein; Susmita Limbu; Lek Nath Luitel; Isha Mayange; Prawjal Pradhan; Sara Schmoll; Destiny Syharaj and Azee Zar.

Essex County

At Canaan Memorial High School, 4 seniors will receive $6,000 in scholarships: Jessa-Marie Bedard; Zachary Brown; Ayva D’Aiello and Paige Hughes.  Jenna Fillion, a senior at Lyndon Institute will receive a $3,100 scholarship and Evan Tremblay, a senior at North Country Union High School received a $1,000 scholarship.

Four seniors at Saint Johnsbury Academy received $7,000 in scholarships: Isabella Mertens; Makyla Rich; Mya Rutledge and Brandon Smith.

Franklin County

Seniors at Franklin County high schools received a total of $111, 250 in scholarships.

At Bellows Free Academy-Fairfax, seven seniors will receive a total of $31,000 in scholarships: Natalie Bates; Claire Bushey; Sophia Chapman-Daley; Hannah Ferris; Hannah Rainville; Cale Santee and Quentin Stoneburner. 

Fourteen BFA-Saint Albans seniors will receive a total of $26,300 in scholarships: Sadie Callan; Shylese Dunn; Kaitlin Emerson; Riley Gamache; Sydney Hatch; Aubrey Hayden; Ethan Ireland; Sarah Magnan; Meade Pollard; Chloe Rouleau; Kayleigh Sweeney; Sarah Tardiff; Fiona Taylor and Terri-Ann Zweeres.

The following seniors from Enosburg Falls Middle and Senior High School will receive $21,650 in scholarships: Randi Barry; Thomas Benoit Jr.; Gabriella Caforia; Mikayla Powell; Lacie Reed; Kyra Weatherwax and Brooke Westcom. 

Mozes Gonyon, a senior at the Northwest Technical Center, received $4,100 in scholarships.

The following seniors at Missisquoi Valley Union High School received a total of $14,300 in scholarships: Megan Benway; Cheyanne Hubbard; Grace Kinney; Emma Medor and Catherine Paradis.

At Richford Junior-Senior High School, 12 seniors received $19,000 in scholarships: Alison Barkley; Adam Breault; Nicholas Carswell; James Clawson; Riley Donna; Miya Hatch; Jessika Herron; Kimberlyann Latuch; Darren Martin; Nicholas Pond; Emma Raymond and Kyla Temple.

Lamoille County

Seniors in Lamoille County received a total of $39,700 in scholarships.

Amelia Adams, Adeline Bonath, Abijah Buttendorf, Lily Granito, Lily Loomis and Wenzdae Wendling of Lamoille Union High School received $13,200 in scholarships.

At Peoples Academy, 7 seniors received $16,300 in scholarships: Katelyn Charette; Joseph Dewan; Hunter Fleming; Kendra-Marie Griggs; Allison Hurlburt; Patraporn Ratanapratum and Nina Zheng. 

Stowe High School senior Patrick Roling received $4,100 in scholarships while home-schooled senior Emily Foster received $3,100 in scholarships.

Orange County

Seniors at Orange County high schools received $210,700 in scholarships.

At Blue Mountain Union High School, Hannah Dube received $1,000 scholarship.

Nine Oxbow High School seniors will receive $36,000 in scholarships: Kayla Benoit; Amber Glaude; Michael Green; Carissa Lasure; Tiffany Longmoore; Amber Morse; Jessica Parent; Makayla Simmons and Lana Wood.

At Randolph Union High School, eight seniors received a total of $37,200: Robert Alexander; Zachary Bingham; Deidra Driscoll; Serena Hanrahan; Rebecca Johnson; Iris Olmstead; Noah Slocum and Paige Wolf.

Rivendell Academy seniors Ariana Baumann, Donna Guillette and Rachel O’Hearn received $4,000 in scholarships.

Stephen Prunk, a senior at Thetford Academy received $6,000 in scholarships.

The following Williamstown Middle High School seniors received $71,900 in scholarships: Kayla Briggs; Evan Choquette; Vanessa Choquette; Leah Cole; Syerra Day; Courtney Derose; Makenzie Donovaan; Megan Dow; Michaela Ducharme; Emilie Duff; Marcus Fleury; Samantha Hepsley; Desirae Pelletier and Jacob Plante. 

Orleans County

Seniors in Orleans County received a total of $106,165.

Craftsbury Academy seniors Elizabeth Brown and Elsa Keppel-Lonegren received $4,000.

Thirty seniors at Lake Region Union High School will share $39,500: Abigail Blanchard; Riley Burdick; William Coburn; Elias Cooper; Madison Dagesse; Annabelle Doucet; Huntre Farnham; Suzanna Frazier; Benjamin Gilcris; Denise Goodridge; Emilee Guyette; Keith Herman; Andrew Hicks; Noah Hill; Joslyn Hinton; Dakota Jones; Connor Lanou; Braydon Leach; Deavonte Mason; Hunter Perkins, Parker Perron; Addie Petit; Jorden Prue; Anna Quinn; Natalie Racine; Cierra Richardson; Cole Royer; Taylor Schneider; Dylan Simoneau and Samantha Whipple

At North County Career Center, seniors Joshua Pavelchak and Sierra Tester received $3,000.

At North Country Union  High School, the following seniors received $55,565 in scholarships: Khelsie Baker; Maya Brainard; Sophia Clements; Kaylah Cotnoir; Connor Davis; Alexis Demers; Abigail Desjarlais; Grace Giroux; Hailey Grenier; Sophie Haugwitz; Taylor Labbee; Jazmyn Leach; Alexis Lefaivre; Peyton Libby; Olivia Lucas; Desiree Malshuk; Elizabeth Martell; Emma Meunier; Grace Miller; Ryan Morse; Ryanne Nadeau; Emma Nadeau; Julia Paul; Mikayla Paxman; Makayla Poulin; Justina Roberge; Kennedy Rolfe; Corrinne Royer; Elizabeth Scherer; Marissa Simpson; Sydney Vanier; Logan Vonheeder; Kristen Watters; Lindsay Wiggett; Kyle Wu and Christina Young.

Rutland County

Seniors at Rutland County schools received $119,950 in scholarships.

At Fair Haven Union High School, 10 seniors will receive $14,000 in scholarships, including: Haley Barrett; Margaret Carboy; Alexis Carlson; Cael Christian; Brooke Eddy; Isabella Leblanc; Alexa Myer; John Otto; Tabitha Sheldrick and Makayla Woodbury.

Brooke Makepeace, a senior at Granville Junior-Senior High School, received $1,000, and home-school senior Austin May received $1,000. Emelia Tooley, a senior at Mount Saint Joseph, also received a $1,000 scholarship.

Five seniors at Mill River Union High School received $12,600 in scholarships: Ian Haskins; Alia Lunna; Jaron Rochon; Anisa Truehart and Amber Young.

At Otter Valley Union High School, 12 seniors will receive $24,500, including: Nathanial Blake; Chrisma Brenenstuhl; Evan Diaz; Emily Doty; Alia Edmunds; Carolynn Lafountaine; Jordan Lemieux; Mikaela Merrill; Haleigh Pelkey; Shayla Phillips; Elinor Ross and Nathan Wilder.

Poultney High School seniors Kelly Stone and Anita Williams have received $5,000 in scholarships, while Proctor Junior-Senior High School’s Rileigh McKeighan received $1000.

Twelve seniors at Rutland High School received $33,550 in scholarships, including:  Ryleigh Bertrand; Taylor Bissitte; Anna Bower; Lauren Calvin; Caitlin Hawkins; Evan Mead; Leslie Novak; Grace Raymond; Morgan Seward; Alexander Stute; Natasha Tuliper and Robert Warner.

West Rutland High School seniors Jenee McGee, Kiera Pipeling, Alana Raymond and Phillip Wedin received $5,000 in scholarships.

Washington County

Seniors at Washington County high schools will receive $103,882 in scholarships.

Cabot High School senior Louis Searles received a $1,000 scholarship.

At Harwood Union High School, three seniors received $9,600 in scholarships: Guinevere Bagley; Grace Brooks and Laili Iskandarova.

Three seniors at Montpelier High School will receive $4,132 in scholarships: Makayla Alber; Davis Hart and Kearston Stoddard.

Northfield High School seniors Mackenzie Bilbrey, Samantha Hays, Violette Maring and Kristopher Stone will receive $18,550 in scholarships.

At Spaulding High School, 11 seniors will receive $37,400 in scholarships: Briana Bouffard; Autavia Browman; Caleb Carrien; Ashley Emmons; Bryanna Giacherio; Rachel Kelley; Merrick Morris; Emma Riddle; Matthew Tacey; Jennah Thompson and Lee Walbridge.

Four seniors at Twinfield Union School received $15,800 in scholarships: Kaitlyn Andress; Nathaniel Hook; Morgan Renz and Fiona Winter.

At U-32 Junior/Senior High School, five students will receive $7,500 in scholarships, including Lindsey Dukette; Ella Farr; Eva Jessup; Olivia Kelley and Madison O’Kelly.

Washington County seniors Cody Dalton and Carl Kellogg also received $1,000 scholarships.

Windham County

Thirty-five seniors will receive a total of $91,700 in scholarships, including:

At Bellows Falls Union High School, five seniors will receive $13,200 in scholarships: Faith Bemis; Stephanie Holland; Justin Pinette; Hunter Smith and Grace Thompson.

Nineteen seniors at Brattleboro Union High School will receive $53,200 in scholarships, including Gale-Ann Allen; Edith Cay; Nichol Frost; Cassidy Gallivan; Amelia Glickman; Sarah Gordon-Macey; Caleb Hayes; Julie Hendricks; Sheridan Lewis; Mirra Macy; Maia McNeill; Zenia Muhammad; Lily Quintero; Olivia Romo; Alyssa Scherlin; Gus Williams; Samantha Winter and Sara Wright.

Chandre Pero, a senior at the Compass School, received a $1,000 scholarship, while Caylah Brewer, a senior at Twin Valley Middle High School, also received a $1,000 scholarship.

At Leland and Gray Union High School, seniors Sydney Hescock, Bay Holmes and Elizabeth Longo will receive $9,300 in scholarships.

Windham County seniors Kaylah Jacobs and Athena Fowler-Shaw will receive $5,000 in scholarships.

Windsor County

Seniors at Windsor County schools will receive $288,500.

At Black River High School, five seniors will receive $5,000 in scholarships: Ryan Boyle; Robert Hamel; Alexander Kirdzik; Christina Letourneau and Esha Patel.

At Green Mountain Union High School 22 seniors will receive $45,400 in scholarships, including James Anderson; Lucy Applegate; Alexander Beshay; Olivia Bernier; Kameron Cummings; Gary Gaudet; Ozzie Jewett; Lydia Jones; Laurel King; Anne Lamson; Tierra Maclean; Nina Neptune; Chase Rawson; Sagen-Rayne Savage; Raevyn Stocker; Magali Stowell Aleman; Zoe Svec; Jacob Thomas; Rileigh Thomas; Abigail Williams; Madison Wilson and Angelae Wunderle.

Eight seniors at Hanover High School will receive $12,500 in scholarships: Kyle Doucette; Meredith Felde; Lillian Hall; Giavanni Minshall; Joseph Osborn; Rose Terami; Amelia Wallis and Cameron Woods.

At Hartford High School, 14 seniors will receive $84,700 in scholarships, including: Jeremy Beaucage; Carrie Comstock; Alannah Cota; Alexander Defelice; Mykel Fungi; Emilia Harlow; Blaise Martin; Keri Mason; Jacob Mayotte; Carolyn North; Daisy Phelps; Eveline Rivat; Maliya Sinclair and Jared Vanderpot.

Joshua King and Elliot Renninger, seniors at Mid-Vermont Christian School received $7,000 in scholarships.

Sharon Academy seniors Sophie Chesnut and Olly Skeet Browning will receive $7,000 in scholarships.

At Springfield High School, 34 seniors received $61,000 in scholarships: Julianna Albero-Levings; Victoria Amsden; Abigail Beaulieu; Alexus Beebe; Brandon Bennett; Emily Benson; William Bishop; Ashley Chamberlin; Brady Clark; Maria Colaluca; Lucia Coutermarsh; Ariel Day; Alyssa Ferris; Allison Gibbons; Sarah Gurney; Grace Guy; Emma Howard; Xandrea Luurtsema; Dylan Merrow; Madison O’Brien; Lucas Pugh; Koleman Schippert; Adam Stokarski; Deserae Swanner; Madison Tennis; Anthony Thibodeau; Owen Thibodeau; Jenna Veysey; Damian Warner; Kaylee Warren; Maizy White; Mycah White; Kayden Wolf and Noah Zierfus.

Nine White River Valley School seniors received $50,700 in scholarships: Jazlyn Barnaby; Macey Carbino; George Carr; Dekin Kill; Grace Lafromboise; Zebulon Perreault; Timber Russell; Kaylyn Scoskie and Shannon Tinker.

Seniors at Windsor High School received $16,200 in scholarships, including: Maxwell Clifford; Caleb Meagher; Lillian Merriam; Keegan Murphy; Virginia Snyder and Elizabeth Wilson.

Woodstock Union High School seniors received $20,000 in scholarships: Anastasia Alexander; Juliana Beraldi; Heather Bray and Erica Kurash.

For more information, visit VSAC’s scholarship page.

About VSAC – Changing Lives through Education and Training since 1965

Vermont Student Assistance Corporation is a public, nonprofit agency established by the Vermont Legislature in 1965 to help Vermonters achieve their education and training goals after high school. VSAC serves students and their families in grades 7-12, as well as adults returning to school, by providing education and career planning services, need-based grants, scholarships and education loans. VSAC has awarded more than $600 million in grants and scholarships for Vermont students, and also administers Vermont’s 529 college savings plan. Share your VSAC story by email to myVSACstory@vsac.org or submit a video to YouTube. Find us at www.vsac.org or check in on Facebook and Twitter. #changing lives