DEBBIE WRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
2023
The application should be received on or before May 15, 2023.
Any questions should be directed to Jane Coleman Williams by phone (617-943-7241) or email (janecolemanwilliams@gmail.com).
Application form is available on the link below.
We wish you luck!
Any questions should be directed to Jane Coleman Williams by phone (617-943-7241) or email (janecolemanwilliams@gmail.com).
Application form is available on the link below.
We wish you luck!
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The Debbie Wright Scholarship Fund 2022 winner |
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Marjorie Haddad, a 2022 graduate of Newton Country Day School. This fall, she will be attending Pitzer College in Claremont, California, where she plans to join the Environmental Analysis Program in the Sustainability and Built Environment track. This interdisciplinary major is designed to help students understand and analyze sustainable design, develop conceptual frameworks for critical inquiry and problem solving, and apply design concepts and skills for sustainability and resilience. While Marjorie is passionate about the importance of studying sustainability and environment on a global scale, she also believes in the small actions that individuals can take to create positive change.
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Garden Club members (left to right) Nancy Jaysane, Jane Coleman Williams, Heidi Harring, and Jackie Jones present the 2022 scholarship award to Marjorie Haddad (center). Courtesy photo.
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To get practical experience with these concepts, Marjorie spent the month of May volunteering five days a week at Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm as a member of the crops team. As part of this internship, she learned ways to conserve water and the importance of sustainable practices as well as developing a profound appreciation of small, local farms that grow food responsibly. This practical experience reinforced the lessons she learned in her AP Environmental Science class about different irrigation methods, the value of crop rotation and cover crops.
At home she and her father have planted and maintained raised vegetable gardens and taken care of perennials in the front yard. Because of her profound interest in environmental sustainability, Marjorie was part of her school’s Environmental Club for three years and then served as co-head during her senior year.
Under her leadership the club planned, organized, and held a variety of events including a clothing swap and a fundraiser where they sold plants, candles, and sugar scrubs in upcycled jars. The purpose of these activities was to build community and teach fellow students about the benefits of reusing and repurposing. Proceeds from these events were donated to an environmental nonprofit organization. Marjorie’s leadership skills also were demonstrated as captain of her school’s crew team.
Marjorie believes strongly in community service. She continues to be a dedicated member of her Girl Scout troop, which focuses on volunteer projects such as fall yard cleanups with the Carlisle Council on Aging, visiting seniors, writing notes and Thanksgiving pie baking.
Marjorie’s personal recommendations are strong. One noted that she has actively demonstrated a passion for environmental science both at school and outside of school while another wrote that “she has shown herself to be someone who not only measures success by the grades she earns in the classroom but by the difference she can make in the world.”
History of the scholarship
For over 50 years the Carlisle Garden Club has awarded the Debbie Wright Scholarship to help Carlisle students defray college costs. This year a $3,000 scholarship is available to high school seniors from Carlisle who attend either public or private high schools or are being home-schooled. Preference will be given to students who have an interest in the following fields: Botany; Landscape Architecture; Horticulture; Forestry; Farming; Conservation; Entomology; Ornithology; and Environmental Studies as well as related areas.
When member Ann Wright's daughter Debbie died in 1966 at the tragically young age of 13, the club organized a bulb sale to institute a scholarship fund in Debbie's name. Although that sale has since been replaced by other fundraisers, the scholarship is still an important club priority. For more than 50 years, the club has awarded scholarships to Carlisle residents to help them defray the first year of college costs. Scholarships are currently available to Concord-Carlisle High School (CCHS) graduating seniors, as well as graduates from the regional vocational-technical high schools, private schools, or home schooling.
After the fund was established, Ann Wright served as the club’s president in 1967-68. The fund was amplified with family donations after Alan G. Wright’s death in 1986. Upon Ann’s death in 2014, her surviving daughter relayed a request that donations in memory of her mother be directed to the fund.
The fund is administered by Garden Club members, who review applications and interview prospective recipients. Some past chairs of the scholarship fund are still affiliated with the club: For example, lifetime member Sylvia Brandhorst (a member since the club's inception) chaired in 1975-76. The current chair is Jane Coleman Williams and additional committee members are Nancy Jaysane, Heidi Harring and Jackie Jones.
After the fund was established, Ann Wright served as the club’s president in 1967-68. The fund was amplified with family donations after Alan G. Wright’s death in 1986. Upon Ann’s death in 2014, her surviving daughter relayed a request that donations in memory of her mother be directed to the fund.
The fund is administered by Garden Club members, who review applications and interview prospective recipients. Some past chairs of the scholarship fund are still affiliated with the club: For example, lifetime member Sylvia Brandhorst (a member since the club's inception) chaired in 1975-76. The current chair is Jane Coleman Williams and additional committee members are Nancy Jaysane, Heidi Harring and Jackie Jones.
How to Contribute
In these difficult times, members of the community are encouraged to support the scholarship fund. You can use the Donate button below to make a tax-deductible contribution that increases the amount of the scholarship. If you prefer to send a check, please address it to the Carlisle Garden Club, PO Box 231, Carlisle, MA 01741 and specify Debbie Wright Scholarship Fund on the memo line.
In these difficult times, members of the community are encouraged to support the scholarship fund. You can use the Donate button below to make a tax-deductible contribution that increases the amount of the scholarship. If you prefer to send a check, please address it to the Carlisle Garden Club, PO Box 231, Carlisle, MA 01741 and specify Debbie Wright Scholarship Fund on the memo line.
Past Recipients of Debbie Wright Scholarship
According to available club records, the following students have received scholarships from the fund.
According to available club records, the following students have received scholarships from the fund.
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2022: Marjorie Haddad
2021: Piper Harring
2020: Kierthan Lathrop
2019: Kyle Bonenfant
2018: Maeve Devlin
2017: Whitney Nash
2016: Samuel Heinrich
2015: Rachel Bratton
2014: Chasidy Jaquith
2013: Emilie Carr
2012: Lauren Tierney, Alex Doig
2011: Melissa Mariano
2010: Christopher Duffy, Jennifer Perugini
2009: Max Herman, Sarah Ganek
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2008: Alice Tattersoll, Julia Lyons
2007: Emily Fritz-Endres
2005: Marlow Duffy, Alison Probolus
2004: Benjamin Phillippo
2003: Elizabeth Orlando
2002: Stephanie Fardy
2001: Carlyn Saylor
2000: Preston Hollerman
1999: Caitlin Gaffey
1997: Matt Zezima
1996: Edward Schreiner
1993: Chris Donnelly
1992: Tim Gordon
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1991: Julie Hayen, Sonya Raymond
1990: Julie Hayen, Christa Clivern
1989: Lisa Hayen
1987: Robert Cliven, Lisa Hayen
1986: Linda Moseley, Karin Schubach, Heather Behn
1985: Linda Mortenson, Kenneth Jacobi, Veronica Bins
1984: Jennifer Hayen
1983: John Cremin, Holly Powers
1982: Polly Verajosian, Cherie Powers, Heidi Given
1981: Heidi Given
1980: Cheryl Mosely, Mary Cogswell
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1979: Thomas O'Rourke, Glenn Callahan
1978: Josephine Christen, Mark Enroth
1977: John Cogswell, Mark Enroth
1976: Linda Golab, Cliff Mehan
1975: John D. Bartlett
1974: Cliff Meehan
1972: Alice Maqueene
1971: Edward Grees
1970: Gregory Cann
1966: Neal Mirfield
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