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Two are nurses, two others work with at-risk youths and another is an engineer — tese successful young adults are former graduates of Rangeley Lakes Regional School who have received the Seasonal Friends of Rangeley Scholarship.
Since 1996, the scholarship, which is supported by visitors and seasonal residents, has provided financial assistance to the school’s graduates. Criteria includes academic achievement, participation in school activities and a strong record of community service.
Sarah Drosdik (the 2003 scholarship winner) and Allison Hammond (2011) used their grants ($3,500 each) to study nursing.
Hammond earned a nursing degree at the University of Maine, where she participated in sports, was active in the Orono Student Nursing Association and worked 40 hours a week. She is a registered nurse on the cardiac floor at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta and instructs students in the Clinical Advanced Program, She hopes to be accepted in Acute Care Nurse Practitioner training.
Drosdik majored in pre-med and art at Bates College, earned a master’s degree and also works as a cardiac nurse. She enjoys art and reports that her “walls are decorated with my work.”
Samantha Olivieri (2009) studied special education and political science at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., where was captain of the basketball team and graduated with academic honors. She has worked as a special education teacher with sixth grade students and families in a low-income, high-risk school district in Massachusetts; developed a life-skills program for teens and young adults; and provided special education services to a preschool in Syracuse, N.Y. Currently she is teacher for students with emotional and behavioral disorders in Westborough, Mass.
Rosie Moreau (2005) attended Northeastern University and the University of Southern Maine, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and earned a masters in criminal justice. She is the program coordinator, overseeing day-to-day operations in an emergency shelter for teens. She recently presented at a national conference in Washington, D.C. about a family mediation model to increase outcomes and reduce youth homelessness.
Emily Carrier (2012) studied civil engineering at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, where she was active with student chapters of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers. After graduating in the top 10 0f her engineering class, she took a position as project engineer based primarily at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery. She missed western Maine, though, and joined Main-Land Development Consultants, a civil engineering firm in Livermore Falls. She provides support for the firm’s engineers and next year will test for her professional license.
All four agree that the recognition and financial support they received with the scholarship has played a role in their career success.
“Many brilliant minds have passed through Rangeley Lakes Regional School, including some who just need a little extra support to get where they’re going,” Moreau said.
Contributions to the Seasonal Friends of Rangeley Scholarship, and the Legacy Scholarship, which is supported by permanent residents, may be sent to P.O. Box 321, Rangeley, ME 04970. Donors receive a receipt for tax purposes.
The directors of both programs are Rebekah Carmichael, Rangeley town treasurer; Heidi Deery, student services director at Rangeley Lakes Regional School; Leeanna J. Wilbur, vice president, Franklin Savings Bank, Rangeley, and a seasonal resident.
