Alumni association honors students with outdoor scholarship ceremony

Jun 14, 2020

The Dartmouth High Alumni Association usually holds a special ceremony for scholarship recipients this time of year, but concerns over Covid-19 cancelled that event. 

In spite of the restrictions and cancellations, the DHSAA was determined to honor the students, and provided them with $23,000 in scholarships on June 14.

Normally, scholarships are presented at the DHSAA’s annual banquet observing a class’ 50-year reunion. Since the event was cancelled, President Enid Silva and alumni association members had to find a new way to get the money to the students. 

“This might buy a couple books if you're lucky,” Silva said. “But these kids worked hard and we want to make sure they get a boost while they’re in college.” 

One idea was to do a drive-by drop off at the recipients homes, but Silva said there were concerns over so many cars going through residential neighborhoods and having to turn around on one-way streets, adding that it would have been “an accident waiting to happen.” 

Instead, the organization decided it would be best to present scholarships to the graduating seniors at the school’s parking lot.

“They’re young, they can come to us,” Silva joked. “And I figured they’d be more than happy to come to us since we’re giving them a thousand dollars.”

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bonny Gifford said she loved the work the alumni association did to make sure that graduating seniors get some sort of recognition during such an unprecedented year.

“This just shows the dedication and commitment these folks have to the students of Dartmouth,” she said. 

Students said they felt the same way.

Kyle Lancaster said he was a big fan of the outdoor ceremony, adding that this, along with the recent graduation parade were great for people who aren’t the biggest fans of sitting through large ceremonies.

Fellow graduate Claire Smith agreed, saying that “It’s so nice for them to honor us seniors like this.”

Along with the scholarships, graduates received information on how the scholarship started and the chance to win a ski trip to Vermont. 

Silva said that she, along with the rest of the alumni association, are excited for the future of these graduates, adding that “these kids are going to change the world.”