Two are nurses, two others work with at-risk youths and another is an engineer.  These successful young adults are among former graduates of the Rangeley Lakes Regional School who received the prestigious Seasonal Friends of Rangeley Scholarship.

Since 1996, that scholarship program, which is supported by visitors to and seasonal residents of the area, has provided financial assistance to graduates of the Rangeley Lakes Regional School.  Among criteria used in selecting winners are academic achievements, participation in school activities and a strong record of community service.

Sarah Drosdik (the 2003 scholarship winner) and Allie Hammond (2011) used their grants (a total of $3,500 each) to study nursing.

Allie earned a nursing degree at the University of Maine, Orono where she was active in the Student Nursing Association and also worked 40 hours a week.  She is a Registered Nurse on the cardiac floor at Maine General Medical Center. Allie also instructs students in the Clinical Advanced Program and hopes to be accepted in Acute Care Nurse Practitioner training.

Sarah completed a double major in pre-med and art at Bates College, went on to obtain a Master’s Degree and also works as a cardiac nurse.  She continues to enjoy her love for art and reports that her “walls are decorated with my work.”

Samantha Olivieri (2009) studied special education and political science at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. where she received both academic and athletic honors.  Among career highlights have been working as a special education teacher with students and families in a low-income, high-risk school district in Massachusetts; developing a life-skills program for teens and young adults, and providing special education services to a public preschool in Syracuse, New York.  Currently Samantha is a special education teacher for students with emotional and behavioral disorders in Westborough, Massachusetts.

Rosie Moreau (2005) is assisting at-risk youths in another way.   She attended Northeastern University and the University of Southern Maine, graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology and earned a Masters in Criminal Justice.   She worked part-time as a youth worker/case manager in an emergency shelter for teens and currently serves as the Program Coordinator, overseeing day-to-day operations. Rosie has been a speaker at workshops and conferences, including a national conference in Washington, DC.

Emily Carrier (2012) followed a different, but equally impressive, path.   She studied civil engineering at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, where she was active with student chapters of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers. After graduating in the top 10 0f her engineering class, she took a full-time position as project engineer at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.   Admitting that “I missed Western Maine,” Emily joined Main-Land Development Consultants, a civil engineering site firm in Livermore Falls. She assists the firm’s engineers and next year she will test for her professional license.

All of these former Rangeley residents agree that the recognition, and financial support, they received as winners of the Seasonal Friends of Rangeley Scholarship played a role in their early career success.

Emily says the assistance “lessened the financial burden and allowed me to focus a little more on my studies.”  Allison notes that this and other scholarships she received allowed her to attend graduate school.

In the words of Rosie, “Many brilliant minds have passed through Rangeley Lakes Regional School, including some who just need a little extra support to get where they’re going.”  Samantha notes, “The cost of tuition continues to rise and scholarships like this are needed now more than ever.”

Contributions to the Seasonal Friends of Rangeley Scholarship, and the Legacy Scholarship, which is supported by permanent residents of the Rangeley area, are tax deductible.  They may be sent to P.O. Box 321, Rangeley, ME 04970. Donors receive a receipt for tax purposes, and the thanks of the outstanding students who benefit from this program.

The Directors of both scholarship programs are Rebekah Carmichael, Rangeley Town Treasurer; Heidi Deery, Student Services Director at the Rangeley Lakes Regional School; Leeanna J. Wilbur, Vice President, Franklin Savings Bank, Rangeley, and one anonymous seasonal resident.