BOSTON – Eleven Fitchburg State College students were among 53 Tsongas Scholars recognized in a ceremony this week at the Statehouse.
The Tsongas Scholarship Program, begun in 1998 and named in tribute to the late Sen. Paul E. Tsongas, offers the state’s top students full scholarships to one of the nine state colleges. The awards cover in-state tuition and mandatory fees for up to four years, approximately $6,800 per year.
The awards are merit-based and financial need is not required for eligibility. The scholars must have graduated high school with a 3.75 grade point average or in the top 10 percent of their classes, with SAT I scores of at least 1200.
Fitchburg State President Robert V. Antonucci led a delegation from the college to Boston for the ceremony on Monday. Fitchburg State this year has more Tsongas scholars than any of the other state colleges.
“These represent some of the very best of the Commonwealth’s students and we’re proud to welcome so many Tsongas Scholars to Fitchburg State College,” Antonucci said.
Attending with members of their families were Tsongas Scholars Laura Bird of Framingham (majoring in communications media); Courtney Gustafson of Fitchburg (human services and English); Nicholas Kallfa of Westfield (mathematics); Sarah Mullin of Foxboro (early childhood education); and Nicole Tibbetts of Foxboro (exercise and sports science/clinical exercise physiology).
The college’s other Tsongas Scholars are Robert Apple of Pittsfield (communications/film), Mary Dumont of Pepperell (pre-major), Socrates Gavriel of Lowell (English), Jacob Gonyer of Haverhill (computer science), Sarah Landry of Westminster (business/accounting) and Sarah Rummel of North Chelmsford (communications/film).
In order to renew Tsongas Scholarship funding, students must maintain a minimum 3.3 grade point average and fulfill requirements set by individual colleges in the program.
The Tsongas scholars and their parents were invited to the luncheon, held in the Great Hall of the Statehouse.
Speakers including State Senate President Therese Murray, Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, Education Secretary Paul Reville, Board of Higher Education Chairman Charles Desmond and State Sen. Anthony Galluccio, chairman of the Joint Committee on Higher Education, recalled the legacy of the late senator from Lowell.
“Education was a cornerstone of his career,” Sen. Murray said, adding Tsongas believed that achievement followed opportunity.
Cahill, who noted his staff includes many graduates of the state’s public colleges and universities, said not enough is done to honor hard-working students who achieve excellence.
“The future of this Commonwealth is going to be built on brainpower,” said Reville, the secretary of education. “We need a culture in education that celebrates that.”
Other speakers encouraged the scholars to give back to their communities, as well as to stay in Massachusetts after their graduation.
“We need you,” Sen. Galluccio said.
Also congratulating the scholars at the ceremony Monday was Thaleia Tsongas Schlesinger, the late senator’s sister. She used her remarks to pay special tribute to the scholars’ parents, whom she said had also played a major role in their children’s academic success.
There were also remarks from current Tsongas Scholar Sabrina Dorsainvil, a student at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and past recipient Kelly Quinn, who is now pursuing a Masters degree at Salem State College. |
