AUBURN — Evelyn Jeanne Bilodeau is the 2018 recipient of the Edward Little High School Class of 1951 Donald M. Gay $7,500 Scholarship for outstanding contributions to the school arts programs.

Graduating fourth in her class of 194 students, Bilodeau will enter Rochester Institute of Technology for international business with a double major in Spanish.

“At RIT, although I will be focusing mainly on my educational career, I will continue my interest in the arts, including both theater and pep band. Theater especially is my creative outlet,” said Bilodeau.

During her junior year she spent five weeks in Europe related to her interest in international business, while working with a coordinator and traveling with two businesses.

Bilodeau’s activities and awards while at ELHS also included participation in the National Honor Society as a junior and senior; soccer and alpine skiing for four years; KVAC all-academic concert, jazz and pep bands; drama and Spanish clubs; Rochester Institute of Technology Innovation and Creative Award; and the Brandeis Book Award.

The Donald M. Gay Scholarship honors the man who was Auburn’s music director from 1944 to 1959, during which Edward Little’s bands and choruses were considered among the best in the East. Nineteen scholarship awards have been made to date amounting to $80,000, and will continue in perpetuity under the guidance of the ELHS Class of 1951 trustees and their successors.

Edward Little Class of 1951 Donald M. Gay Scholarship winner Evelyn Bilodeau, at right, with her mother, Stacey.