3 Salem Students Earn City of Salem & Waste Management Essay Scholarships

SALEM, MA — Three Salem students earned scholarship awards for their essays on how the Witch City can become a more sustainable city.

The $2,500 City of Salem and Waste Management Scholarships were awarded to Kate Heppner and Vihanna Frias, while Alex Pappas earned a $1,000 runner-up scholarship.

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Kate Heppner's essay focused on the outsized electricity consumption at Salem High School and highlighted the potential of solar tube lighting and occupancy sensors as a low-cost and maintenance-friendly way to increase energy efficiency on the new campus.

Heppner will be attending the University of Vermont in the fall with plans to major in Environmental Studies.

Vihanna Frias will be attending UMass-Boston this fall. Her essay included ways to support Salem's community farms and gardens, public transportation, solar energy, and green jobs, while ensuring the wider community is directly engaged in sustainability efforts.

Alex Pappas is a student at Salem State University, majoring in Geography with a Concentration in Environmental Sustainability.

In her essay, Pappas focused on improving outdoor infrastructure to promote engagement with green spaces and advocated for scientific and media literacy to gain support for meaningful environmental initiatives.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)