On Wednesday, June 22, Merrimack Valley Credit Union (MVCU) awarded a total of $16,500 in scholarships to 15 high school students from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Nina Tiani was the inaugural recipient of the Lisa Lewis Goodman Community Spirit Award of $2,500, and the other 14 recipients received $1,000 scholarships. Nine students were able to attend the scholarship presentation in person with their families, while two attended via Zoom.
“Our annual scholarship fund is one of the ways we give back to the community,” said John Howard, President and CEO of Merrimack Valley Credit Union. “For the first time in two years, we were able to gather and celebrate the students’ accomplishments in person. We want to thank all the students for applying for our scholarships. As in past years, the caliber of students and their application is outstanding, making our selection process all the more difficult. Ultimately the scholarship recipients were selected for their commitment to education, their community both in and out of school, and their essay detailing how they would run the credit union if they were in charge.”
MVCU received 105 applications from students at 43 different high schools from the Merrimack Valley region down to the Cape in Massachusetts. Students were scored on their academic performance, school and community involvement, work experience, letters of recommendation and their essays that answered the prompt: “If I ran the Credit Union, I would...”
The Lisa Lewis Goodman Community Spirit Award was granted for the first time. The award is named after MVCU’s long-time Collections Manager, who passed away in 2021, and honors one student who embodies a spirit of generosity, kindness, and selflessness by giving back and volunteering in the community. Brad Goodman, Lewis Goodman’s husband, presented the award to Nina Tiani, of Hull, Mass. Tiani graduated from Hull High School and will attend Boston College, majoring in Operations Management.
The other winners were:
Gaia Donohoo, of North Andover, Mass., graduated from North Andover High School and will attend Sacred Heart University, majoring in Criminal Justice.
Mason Forcier, of Acushnet, Mass., graduated from Fairhaven High School and will attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute, majoring in Aerospace Engineering.
Grace Gobeil, of Bourne, Mass., graduated from Bourne High School and will attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst with an Undeclared Major.
Billy Joaquin, of Lawrence, Mass., graduated from Lawrence High School and will attend Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in Chemical Engineering.
Luz Joseph, of Lawrence, Mass., graduated from Lawrence High School and will attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute, majoring in Business Analytics.
Emma Judge, of Ashland, Mass., graduated from the Montrose School and will attend the University of Dallas, majoring in Politics.
Arianna Marcey, of Falmouth, Mass., graduated from Falmouth High School and will attend the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, majoring in Psychology.
Brigid McCarron, of Melrose, Mass., graduated from Melrose High School and will attend Dartmouth College, majoring in Computer Science.
Sophia Nguyen, of Andover, Mass., graduated from Andover High School and will attend Northeastern University, majoring in Bioengineering.
Paige Papa, of North Andover, Mass., graduated from North Andover High School and will attend Providence College, majoring in Biochemistry and Chemistry.
Ava Pepin, of Acushnet, Mass., graduated from Fairhaven High School and will attend Merrimack College, majoring in Engineering.
Emily Pfeil, of Methuen, Mass., graduated from Methuen High School and will attend Bentley University, majoring in Corporate Finance and Accounting.
Reilly Richardson, of Windham, N.H., graduated from Windham High School and will attend the University of New Hampshire, majoring in Biomedical Science.
Mariel Surprenant, of Fairhaven, Mass., graduated from Fairhaven High School and will attend Providence College, with an Undeclared Major.
For more information about Merrimack Valley Credit Union, visit http://www.mvcu.com.