North Haven Rotary Scholarships Make Real Differences In Students' Lives

When you think of a college student, many envision a young man or woman in their early 20s who have yet to enter the workforce full-time, are single and live at home with their parents when not living or studying at college.  That's not always the case as illustrated here in this story of two Gateway Community College students:

In early June, Mary Ellen Cody, Dean of Endowments & Community Partnerships at Gateway Community College thanked the North Haven Rotary Club for all of its efforts in raising funds for education and the work that its non-profit, the North Haven Rotary Foundation, accomplishes each year in providing scholarships for students.

Cody said that as a part of the process that grants scholarships to students, a major function in her position, she often lies awake at night thinking about those students who were not fortunate enough to receive one. 
 
This year was the first time that students were able to go on-line to complete their applications for scholarships resulting in a 300% increase in applications.

The dean indicated that Gateway’s enrollment continues to grow, and said that this year there are over 800 full time and part time students, adding that the average student at Gateway is a 28 year old female from the suburbs.

Presently tuition is set at $4,500 per year so many students attend Gateway for the first two years and then transfer to another college for the remaining two years, resulting in a considerable savings.

Cody closed her comments stating that one of last year’s recipients of a North Haven Rotary Foundation Scholarship graduated this year from Gateway and gave a very compelling speech at the commencement exercises.

Melissa Daniele, the first of the two $1,000 scholarship recipients stated, “I am honored and elated to be a recipient of a NHR Foundation scholarship. When I decided to further my education and enroll at Gateway, my primary goal was to implement and enhance my knowledge of health, wellness and nutrition by pursuing a degree in Dietetic Technology in order to mentor the participants of my Pilates, group exercise, and personal training classes. I also feel very fortunate to have been a resident of North Haven for almost 25 years with my husband Frank and our three children, Alessandra, Frankie and Elissabeth whose support and encouragement have made this all possible.”

The second scholar to receive an award in early June from the NHR Foundation was James Doran, a computer science major at Gateway.

Doran stated, “I have been an unemployed Veteran for a year and have been enrolled as a full time student at Gateway in order to help me become a more viable candidate for future employment. When I discovered that I received a scholarship from the North Haven Rotary Club I was humbled and grateful. This scholarship will help me immensely in finishing my degree in Computer Science. When I am not looking for work or in school, I am a volunteer at the VA Hospital in West Haven helping other Veterans.” 

The North Haven Patch thanks David Marchesseault, Rotary Public Relations Chairman, for providing the copy and photos for this article.