Ashland – The Ashland Business Association (ABA) recently announced its two scholarship winners, Joe Peine and Amanda Gilbert, for 2013. Each student was awarded $1,000 as part of the Ashland High School graduation ceremony earlier this month.
Joe Peine was the founder and president of the Ashland High School Science Club, which helps promote science and learning among elementary school students. He also was a member of the MIT Leadership Training Institute and an active member of the National Honor's Society. In 2012, Joe published a scientific paper that was accepted by the BioRob, a biomedical robotics conference in Rome, Italy, where he presented his research. He is planning to attend John Hopkins University.
One of Amanda Gilbert's recommendations stated, “[Her] greatest strength is her diligence and commitment to succeed.” Amanda is very involved in giving back to the community and to her school. Eight years ago, Amanda and her sister started the Food For Thought program. The girls collected gently used children's books and distributed them through local food pantries.? The program is now an ongoing community service that, as described on the web site, “keeps bookshelves in local food pantries and social services agencies stocked so children can select a book to take home and call their own.” For the past five years, Amanda worked in Annemarie's Dance Centre's, working alongside a classroom instructor, assisting students. Amanda will attend UMass Amherst.
Each year the ABA awards scholarships to high school seniors residing in Ashland who best demonstrate good work ethics, motivation, creativity and business/community interests.
ABA Scholarship Committee members are Adam Sachs, chair (Centinel Financial Group), Bill Gath (The Homes Connection of Metrowest), Leslie Marci (Ashland Education Foundation, Inc.) and Elizabeth Null (Learning Quest Education).
For more information, visit www.AshlandFirst.com or contact Adams Sachs at 781-446-5006 or [email protected].
