More than 90 East Hampton High School seniors were awarded roughly $350,000 on June 4 as part of the school’s local scholarship program, with prizes from every organization imaginable — the fire departments, teachers’ associations, Police Benevolent Association, Lions Club, American Legion, Kiwanis Club, Ladies Village Improvement Society, and local businesses.
“Some students are earning $10,000 scholarships, $14,000 scholarships — a lot of money and financial support that will undoubtedly help them in their future,” said Sara Smith, the high school principal. “For some students it means they can go to the college of their dreams. For some students it means they can go into the work force with $10,000 in the bank to buy tools, to buy equipment. For some students it means they can buy supplies or books at school. It truly, in some cases, changes the trajectory of their lives.”
The senior scholarship candidates spent hours getting letters of recommendation, writing essays, and filling out the applications — much like applying to college. The process was so important and intense that the scholarship application deadline — March 9 — was noted on the white board in the high school lobby. After that, the seniors could breathe a sigh of relief. One of them, Maya Tavares, took home 17 scholarships — an honor for which she was truly grateful.
“It’s just a culmination of all the effort not just by myself, but my parents and my family. I’m just really proud to be able to do this for them and myself and my future. And I’m really grateful for how the community responds to all the effort that all of us volunteers do and all the work we put in,” Maya said. “It’s just a really special community and really great people around. And all of the different scholarships mean something special for everyone. And I’m really honored that they thought of me and wanted to give these to me. I’m just really thankful for that.”
Maya is a three-sport athlete who played volleyball, basketball, and softball all four years of high school. She was part of the newspaper club, the Spanglish Club, the environmental club, and handled public relations for her class. She also participated in the school’s buildON trip to Malawi, Key Club events, the Seafood Festival, the Santa Parade, and she read poetry at cultural events. Maya is attending Bowdoin College in Maine in the fall, where she plans to major in education to become a teacher. Her dream is to be part of the Fulbright Program and teach overseas.
“We knew Maya was special when she came in ninth grade,” Ms. Smith said. “Maya is the epitome of maturity and kindness and literally is here at everything. She participates in everything. She is an honest, kind, incredible person. She does everything and she does it with grace and maturity and she does it for the right reasons. She doesn’t do it to build her résumé. She does it because she truly wants to and she’s committed to the community. She’s a standout.”
Several other students received multiple scholarships that night. Jacen Sheades won 11 awards, including an American Legion Book Scholarship, an East Hampton Education Foundation Scholarship, and a four-year L.V.I.S. Scholarship. His father smiled while leaving the school, shocked at how many prizes his son had received. Jacen is attending Virginia Tech in the fall to study criminology.
Aaron Bistrian won nine awards, including two from the Amagansett Fire Department, two from the Springs Fire Department, an East Hampton Rotary Occupational Scholarship, a Kiwanis Club Occupational Education Award, and a two-year L.V.I.S. Scholarship.
Yvonne Geehreng won seven scholarships, including the Bennett Shellfish-Save Our Waters Scholarship, the Devon Yacht Club Gardiner’s Bay Scholarship, and the South Fork Sea Farmers Steward of the Marine Environment Scholarship. She will attend the University of Miami this fall to study marine biology and ecology.
“What’s really special is we get to see which scholarship is paired up with each student and it’s always a poetic way that it comes together that the perfect kid gets the perfect award and they’re so grateful,” Ms. Smith said. “Our families are so grateful. We are so grateful for the community’s support of our students and our families and it’s a really special night.”
