Four area student recently received one of five 2017 Alva S. Appleby Scholarships from the Maine Dental Association Charitable Foundation. They are Stephanie Beeckel, Andrew Emery, Luke Klinker and Jessica Pillsbury Smith.

Beeckel, a graduate of Cony High School, is a member of the class of 2020 at the University of New England College of Dental Medicine.

Beeckel received her bachelor’s degree from the University of New England. She traveled to Ecuador with a group of students from UNE in 2013 for a medical mission, and as co-president of International Medical Missions at UNE, led another group on a trip to Peru in 2014.

She is the daughter of Thomas and Lisa Beeckel, of Augusta.

Emery, a graduate of Winthrop High School, is a member of the class of 2018 at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine.

Emery earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of New England. He is vice president of the Student National Dental Association/Hispanic National Dental Association chapter at the University of Connecticut. He is a Hartford Health Education Board member, and presented research as the Charles R. Morris Award recipient at the 2017 American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology annual session.

He is the son of Robert and Donna Emery, of Winthrop.

Luke Klinker, a graduate of Madison Area Memorial High School, is a member of the class of 2018 at the University of New England College of Dental Medicine.

Klinker earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine at Farmington. He has worked as a reserve officer for the Oakland Police Department and as a reserve deputy for the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, and has been awarded the Maine Police Emerald Society Scholarship.

He is the son of Dr. Stephen and Lauren Klinker, of Waterville.

Pillsbury Smith, a graduate of Messalonskee High School, is a member of the class of 2018 at the University of New England College of Dental Medicine.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine at Farmington and an associate degree from the University of Maine at Augusta. She has served on the UNE Class of 2018 Clinic Advisory Committee, has been a biomedical research investigator trained by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative, and has received UNE’s P.D. Merrill Scholarship.

She is the daughter of Roger and Christine Pillsbury, of Belgrade.

Each of the students were awarded $5,000. To be considered for the annual Appleby Scholarship, a student must be a resident of the state of Maine, have completed their first year of dental school, and be enrolled in a dental school accredited by the American Dental Association.