Hillsborough Resident First Recipient of Local College Scholarship

A college student from Hillsborough has been chosen as the first recipient of the Somerville Elks/ Catherine Guerrera College Scholarship.

Joseph Rae Watson, a senior at Centenary College studying communications/radio and television broadcasting, was selected at the first recipient of the scholarship. Watson was presented with the award, totaling $2,000, during a luncheon ceremony at the Somerville Lodge #1068, according to a release from the Somerville Elks.

Watson, who suffers from dyslexia, was selected for the scholarship, which is to be awarded annually to students who have dealt with physical or cognitive disabilities, based on his outstanding scholarship, moral character, leadership and courage, the release said.

Catherine Guerrera, for whom the scholarship is named, suffered from polio while growing up during the Great Depression, the release said. Guerrera was named the first postmaster of the Flagtown section of Hillsborough after writing to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, asking why young women with disabilities found difficulty finding employment, according to the Elks Lodge.

“We are pleased and honored to have Joseph receive this award,” Sean Decker, Somerville Elks Scholarship chairman, said in the release. “He’s a fine young man who not only has excelled in the classroom, but demonstrated the enthusiasm and will to contribute to bettering the lives of others at Centenary.”

(Photo courtesy of the Somerville Elks Lodge #1068)