Friends of the Library present scholarships

Three high school seniors were recently awarded $1,000 scholarships by the Center Moriches Friends of the Library.

The scholarship, named for Maurine Rose and Carroll Gerard Donnelly, were both revered

Center Moriches Library employees who encompassed the spirit of volunteerism and dedication to the library.

Due to their example, according to scholarship committee chairperson Mary Brundage, the Friends incorporate those traits as part of the requirements needed to apply for the scholarship. Candidates must complete 10 hours of community service with the library, provide a letter of recommendation attesting to the character of the applicant, and write a short essay explaining how the library has impacted their life.

“It was a pleasure for the scholarship committee to read all the candidates’ essays and these three students clearly stood out. They each expressed the importance of the library at different stages of their lives and the impact they experienced due to this. These young people all gave back to our community through involvement in a number of volunteer organizations,” said Brundage. “Their letters of recommendation provided further insight to the character of each person. We felt these three clearly met our requirements and were well-deserving of the FOL scholarship.”

This year, the Friend’s Scholarship Committee received eight well-qualified candidates.

Three winners were chosen.

The winners were Courtney Froberg, a senior at Eastport-South Manor High School, who be attending Nova SE University, majoring in public health; Alexander Gentile, the valedictorian at Center Moriches High School, who will be attending Cornell University, majoring in mechanical engineering; and Delaney Mattiolo, a senior at Westhampton High School, who will be going to SUNY Oneonta to major in childhood education.

The Friends of the Library presented the scholarships on June 11.

“I’m incredibly grateful and honored to receive the Center Moriches Friends of the Library Maurine Rose and Carroll Gerard Donnelly Memorial Scholarship. It means so much to me to be selected and as I start my future after high school,” Froberg said.