Andona Society Awards $2K Scholarships To Andover High Seniors

ANDOVER, MA—The Andona Society recently awarded five $2,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors living in Andover.

Founded in 1952, the non-profit is made up of volunteers who are dedicated to raising money to support Andover youth through grants, scholarships and camperships.

This year, four exceptional scholarship recipients were chosen from a pool of over 40 deserving applicants. One recipient was selected by Andover High School.

The scholarship recipients are below:

Vishnu Suresh: Vishnu is a well-rounded Andover High School graduate with an incredible ability to help others. He has been a dedicated volunteer at Andover Youth Services throughout his high school career, serving as a positive role model and helping middle schoolers through countless challenging situations. He is a problem solver by nature, often using computer science to find helpful solutions in real world situations. When AHS moved to a confusing 8-day rotating block schedule, Vishnu built an Amazon Alexa-like device by developing a voice assisted app and using a small computer and microphone to allow students to readily access the schedule for the day. Not only was it placed in the school library for everyone to use, but Vishnu also gave a presentation about it at an educational conference in Boston. At his summer internship job, Vishnu created a dashboard feature software to help the sales team organize their orders and increase their productivity. Vishnu was also inspired by his autistic cousin to create an iphone app to distinguish between happy and sad emotions in photographs. He hopes future iterations of the app will use this technology to aid individuals with autism in distinguishing moods and emotions. It is not surprising that Vishnu was Co-President and founder of the Computer Science Club, Physics and CS Leader of the Science Olympiad, and a member of the Science Team. He was the Senior Leader on the Quiz Team, earning 4th place on the televised High School Quiz Show. He was also a member of the AHS Tennis team and a blogger on Medium.com. He held jobs as an Operations Analyst at iSpecimen, a Research Assistant at Merrimack College, and a Tutor at Beaven and Associates. Vishnu will study Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall, where he will continue to help others through problem solving.

Julianna Barbaro: Julianna is an Andover High School graduate with an outstanding dedication to helping others. She has been a Junior Volunteer at Winchester Hospital for the past four years, logging over 630 hours in a variety of rolls. Julianna participated in the Excel Program, where she donated her time teaching communication skills to middle school children with intellectual challenges. She also volunteered in the Andover Title III English Learner Summer Program, assisting children in grades K-8 acquire the English language. She was a volunteer coach at softball clinics for the past four years and an event organizer on the Volunteer Advisory Board at the library for the past 7 years. Julianna was an extraordinary student, graduating in the top 10% of her class and receiving a 5 on her AP Biology Exam. She was awarded with Underclassman Awards for Excellence in 8 different subjects, including two awards in Honors/AP Biology, Student Government, and Honors Spanish, as well as Senior awards in AP Chemistry and Humanities. In addition to her impressive academics, she is a strong leader. She was heavily involved in Student Government for four years, serving as President during her Junior and Senior year. She was a member of the National Honor Society Executive Board, Class Board, Global Engagement Program, Students 2 Students, and various other boards, clubs, and activities. Julianna also participated on many athletic teams, including AHS Varsity Softball (Captain/Letter), Indoor Track, and Basketball, as well as Club Softball. And somehow, she found time to hold a job in the Kid Care Program at High Plain Elementary School, helping elementary children with homework and supervising and organizing their activities. Julianna will be attending Boston College in the fall and plans to attend medical school one day.

Hannah Finn: Hannah is the recipient of the Anita Howe Memorial Scholarship, an award given in memory of Andona’s first president and one of its founding members. Hannah is receiving this award because she has displayed an exceptional commitment to community service. As part of this scholarship, Hannah will choose an Andover community service or non-profit organization to which Andona will donate $500 in her name. One of the many reasons Hannah was selected for this award is because of her selfless work with the One Wish Project. The One Wish Project is a non-profit organization that Hannah founded three years ago to help make a difference in the lives of homeless children. She has dedicated hundreds of hours to providing custom homemade cakes, decorations, and presents to over 180 homeless children on their birthdays. She has partnered with the Lazarus house and five additional shelters to make each child feel truly special. Hannah was recognized for leadership in her community with the Boston Celtics Heroes Among Us Award, the Mary Jo Brown Spreading Smiles Award, the American Red Cross Youth Hero Award, and the Prudential Spirit of Community Bronze Medal. Hannah participated on the Andover High School Girls Gymnastics team during her freshman year. However, she became so busy with the One Wish Project that she made the difficult, but mature decision to switch to a team manager role for her sophomore through senior years. She still enjoyed supporting her team and attending meets, while focusing on her community service. Hannah has been able to bring her passion to AHS by starting the One Wish Club, participating on the Senior Class Board, and volunteering as a Student Ambassador. She was one of three student ambassadors who led the “Blanket Project,” making blankets for students with no gas due to the gas explosions. In addition to her various extra-curricular activities, Hannah worked as a hostess at Andolinis and is currently working at Helen Thomas. She is great representation of the values of the Andona Society. Hannah is looking forward to attending Quinnipiac University in the fall, where she will continue to help others and make the world a brighter place.

Abigail McMahon: Abigail is a hard-working graduate of Central Catholic High School. She has an impressive academic resume. She was an Honor Roll student, a Peer Leader, a Retreat Leader, and a member of both the National Honor Society and the Student Alumni Association. She was also part of the Math League, Passport Club, Theatre Guild Crew, Yearbook Editor, and a participant in the Hugh O’Brien Leadership Program. Throughout her high school career, Abigail has taken on numerous leadership roles in various organizations. She was selected and served for four years on the Executive Committee for Catwalk 4 Cancer, a student-run fashion show and auction that raises over $50,000 annually for cancer treatment. She began on the Entertainment Committee and finished as the head of the Public Relations Committee, in charge of running the entire silent auction. Abigail also participated in two 16-week Junior Achievement Company Programs where she learned to create, run, and liquidate her own businesses while developing the soft skills needed to succeed in a global workforce. Last year, Abigail’s business partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness to increase awareness of the rising levels of anxiety in high school students and generated $2,300 in gross revenue. Abigail also donated her time as a volunteer at Neighbors in Need, South School, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, and the Professional Center for Child Development. When she wasn’t volunteering, she held jobs working at Aaron’s presents and babysitting. Abigail will be attending Bentley University in the fall, where she will major in business management and she will be part of the Women’s Leadership Program.

Kyle Rocker-Fielding: Kyle is the winner of Andona’s Perseverance and Character Award. This is a special award because the recipient is chosen by the teachers and the guidance counselors at Andover High School. Kyle is the most sincere, humble, hardworking, and nicest young man you will ever meet. Over the last four years, his consistent work ethic has enabled him to successfully accomplish many goals. Kyle has become a strong self-advocate and readily asks for assistance when he recognizes he needs it. He is genuinely appreciative of the extra time his teachers spend with him and he always expresses his gratitude. All of his hard work paid off when Kyle was inducted into the Andover High School National Honor Society in his junior year. In the classroom, Kyle was a role model to his peers and they readily sought out his guidance. Outside of the classroom, Kyle was a star athlete on the AHS Varsity Basketball team for four years. While he was captain this year, his leadership has been evident since day one of his high school basketball career. He offered continual encouragement to his teammates and demonstrated, by example, how to be respectful of others both on and off the court. This year, Kyle became one of the few students in the history of AHS to score over 1,000 points during his high school career. Kyle is well-liked by faculty and peers. His calm and soft-spoken demeanor make him a joy to have in class. Kyle has great aspirations for his future, and we know he will reach his goals with the same determination and effort he displayed during his time at Andover High School. He will be sorely missed by everyone at Andover High. Kyle will be attending Tilton Academy in the fall, where he will continue to persevere and show strength of character.