BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) awarded four college scholarships for the 2014-2015 academic year.
Three high school graduates and one mature woman, already pursuing higher education, each received $1,000. These scholarships are funded in part by the AAUW Annual Book Sale, which is held this year Sept. 4 through 6 at Centre Congregational Church.
The recipients are:
• Brittany Bills, Leland & Gray Union High School: Bills will attend the University of Maine at Machias to major in marine biology. At high school she served on the yearbook committee, sang in the chorus, and exhibited in an art show.
Moreover, she raised funds for a playground reconstruction and for her school-related travels to London, Paris, and Italy. She played varsity soccer , where she was captain one year. Often on the honor roll, Bills was top of her class in Chinese, physical education, and art.
Following the devastation of Tropical Storm Irene, Bills helped in community clean-up, particularly for a local business.
• Christine Reilly, Twin Valley High School: Reilly will attend Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., to major in English and prepare to teach at the secondary school level.
Reilly is a four-year honors student in the National Honor Society and has been recognized for excellence in French, as actor of the year, in musical theater, and in District Choir and District Jazz Choir.
Her school and community service activities include service as vice president of the senior class, PRIDE (an anti-drinking and tobacco group), secretary of the Thespian Honor Society, GREEN SNEAKERS, and the WINGS Foundation.
• Olivia Siegel, Brattleboro Union High School: Siegel will attend Goucher College to study international relations, and plans a career in the foreign service.
She has spent a month in Northeast China, received a Merchants Bank scholarship for an experiment in international living, and made much of a class field study in Northern Ireland.
Leader of Brattleboro's all-female a capella group, Siegel sings in the Madrigals and has performed at nursing homes and benefit concerts. She has received BUHS's Choral Leadership Award, Latin Leadership Award, and Garrick Theatre Award.
• Crystal Durocher, Mature Woman recipient: Durocher will attend Vermont Technical College for its associate degree program in registered nursing.
She married after high school, raised two daughters and, whenever she could, studied and worked first as a nurse's aide and then as an LPN in a variety of settings, most recently at Grace Cottage Hospital.
She says she particularly valued work in a hospice program as it allowed her to adapt her nursing skills to the unique needs of each patient. During her LPN study, she volunteered in Louisiana for Hurricane Katrina relief in makeshift clinics, animal shelters, and in other forms of individual and community service.