Knight receives Barrows Scholarship

The Kennebec Valley Garden Club has awarded its Barrows Scholarship to Amanda Knight, a 2014 graduate of Messalonskee High School.

Knight graduated first in her class. She will attend Ohio State University, majoring in landscape architecture.

Van Twistern to begin AmeriCorps service

Richard Van Twistern of Winthrop, Maine, will serve as an assistant field team leader and AmeriCorps national service member for a three-month, 450-hour term of national service, the Maine Conservation Corps announced recently.

The MCC conducts conservation projects throughout the state, including extensive recreational trail construction and rehabilitation.

Van Twistern a 2012 graduate of Winthrop High School and a student at the University of Maine at Orono, studying engineering physics. He previously served as a field team member with the MCC in 2013. He is the son of David and Michelle Van Twistern of Winthrop.

Berard named scholarship recipient

Ryan Berard of Oakland, a senior at Messalonskee High School, was awarded the 2014 Joseph B. Ezhaya Memorial Scholarship.

Berard was the leader of the Messalonskee High School Food Drive and co-founded a Day of Caring at the high school. The majority of students cleaned walking trails, cemeteries and the schools, as well as visiting nursing homes. He is a senior mentor to a younger student. He also volunteers in the community. Berard will attend Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire, where he plans to receive a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a minor in political science.

The Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce awards the $750 scholarship annually to a local graduating senior with an exemplary record of citizenship and community service. Applicants are required to submit an essay on their community involvement and finalists are interviewed by the Ezhaya Memorial Scholarship Committee.

Dempski appointed to Air Force Academy

COLORADO SPRING, Colo. — Michael Dempski, 18, son of Jeff and Katherine Dempski of Oakland, has received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Dempski graduated from Saint Dominic Academy in Auburn where he was class president and a four-year varsity letter winner as captain of the swim team and cross country track team. He plans to begin this summer with a six-week basic cadet training course. He plans to major in aerospace engineering.

Students receive SkillsUSA recognition

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Several local students received recognition at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference.

High scorers in the contests received Skill Point Certificates. Recipients of this recognition were Skyler Webb of Readfield, Maine, a student at Capital Area Technical Center in Augusta, Maine, who competed in plumbing; Jacob Archer of Rome, Maine, a student at Mid-Maine Technical Center in Waterville, Maine, who competed in related technical math; and Team B — Holly Wentworth and Monique Sutherland of Mid-Maine Technical Center in Waterville — was awarded a Skill Point Certificate in Digital Cinema Production.

Fredrick-Rock attends leadership institute

Erica Fredrick-Rock of Corrina, formerly of Augusta and a student at the University of Maine at Augusta, was selected to attend Maine NEW Leadership, a six-day, nonpartisan public leadership education program provided at no cost to college women from a wide range of socioeconomic, ethnic, racial, and educational backgrounds and academic majors, according to a news release from the university.

The leadership institute,held recently in Orono, was sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center to help participants learn skills and develop networks that empower them to become civic and public leaders.

A member of the class of 2015, Fredrick-Rock plans to pursue a career in medicine. She has begun volunteering with The Maine Women’s Policy Center and The Maine Women’s Lobby.

Copy the Story Link