Committeeman Funds Scholarships for Emerson Kids

Two Emerson Jr./Sr. High School students have received $1,000 scholarships, compliments of the family of Wyckoff Committeeman Brian Scanlan.

Scanlan, an Emerson alum, presented the Barry Scanlan Award to Andrew DiCostanzo and Rebecca Donahue of Emerson at the school's award ceremony last week.

The award is given to students in honor of the committeeman's brother, Barry Scanlan, who passed away in 1984 at age 26 after a battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A 1976 Emerson graduate, Barry Scanlan made his mark academically and athletically at the borough school, both as a member of the National Honor Society and a standout track athlete whose 4:18 mile set a school record that stood for more than 20 years.

"The Barry Scanlan award is different from many of the other awards given to the talented students of this high school on this stage today. It's not given to the best athlete, though Barry truly was a great athlete... It's not given to the smartest student, though Barry was a member of the National Honor Society. Rather, it is given to a student who has shown remarkable fortitude in the face of very difficult circumstances, which Barry did during his illness. This sort of quality is not so easy to define in numbers or even words, but we all certainly know it when we see it.

"This award is also different from some of the others in that it is not presented each year. Rather, it is only given in those years when there is a graduating student who shows this unique quality of perseverance," Brian Scanlan said at the awards ceremony.

The committeeman said the scholarships often are only bestowed every other year, due to a lack of students who fit the award criteria. The Class of 2010 was unusual in having two students who overcame hardships en route to graduation.

The Scanlan family funds the awards, whose recipients are chosen by a committee at Emerson Jr./Sr. High School. The Barry Scanlan Award has been given to Emerson students for the past 25 years.

— Nicholas Loffredo