The Committee has realized that a "Scholarship" designation carries with it the expectation that these funds will be available on an on-going basis. As a consequence, they found that "Anniversary Gift" is more representative nomenclature.
"ANNIVERSARY GIFT" SEARCH COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Karen Traudt Bigger
Mary Calahan Cheney
Kathy Kruger Authier
Mary Ann Mahoney Kadish
Tricia Gilheaney Coyle
Hannah Mary Michaela Marino
Below is the announcement read by Tricia Gilheaney Coyle at our gathering on May 31 at the Windjammer Restaurant.
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"Who would have guessed when the band of five sat at Mary’s dining room table in September 2017 that we would share a remarkable journey culminating in our becoming sisters and in our finding a truly remarkable young woman to become the recipient of Trinity College, Class of 1968, 50th Anniversary Gift of $4000.
We focused on the application, advertising, and a timeline for the project. While the application would contain the obligatory who what when why questions, we felt strongly that it contain essays to highlight exactly how this gift might impact their life both now and in the future. Keeping in mind that this was a gift celebrating our class’ 50th reunion we wanted the recipient to be as we were in 1964…a Catholic woman seeking to pursue her undergraduate degree at a Catholic college or Catholic university. The timeline became: December, have the application finalized; March , advertising campaign begins first in VT then branches out to other states, alumnae news, church bulletins; April, deadline for receipt of applications; May, decision on recipient; June, award gift. Through the magic of the internet, we met each deadline.
We received 39 applicants distributed as follows: 17 from Vermont, 9 from Massachusetts, 7 from New Hampshire, 3 from Connecticut, 2 from New York, and 1 from New Jersey. Using rubrics and our gut feel to guide us we began the winnowing process beginning by separating those who did not meet the basic criteria (some weren’t Catholic, some were already in college, and one enterprising hopeful, though she would be attending a public university said, “…I know it isn’t Catholic but they like Catholics”). Thirty – nine quickly became 10. While charting our choices there were four women which each of us included in our “lists”. The four now became two. The final choice came down to that one remarkable young woman who is as we were…Catholic woman seeking to pursue her undergraduate degree at a Catholic university, BUT also gave each of us that special WOW factor.
Hannah Mary Michaela Marino hails from Winchester, MA and will be attending Catholic University of America majoring in nursing. Ultimately, she would like to become a nurse practitioner. Hannah is the fifth oldest of eleven children. Her father is a self-employed builder and her mother is a stay-at-home mom. She attended a Catholic high school where she excelled academically, was a leader in both athletics and campus ministry all while rounding out her person through community service, mentoring and participating in a workshop at Biogen Idec Community Lab and learning about pediatric and adult oncology at two area hospitals. Her experiences and educational opportunities have given this young woman a maturity beyond her years which she exhibits in her writing. And it was her writing which gave us the wow factor.
In one of her essays we meet Hannah as she comes to learn how to help her wheelchair bound friend enter Hannah’s life of racing. We follow Hannah from acknowledgement of her friend’s disability, to research at Biogen, to inclusion in 5K racing. In the second essay we learn of how mature Hannah is and how her faith helps to sustain her. With the preterm death of her brother, she and her father set out to make his tiny coffin. This led a year later to making caskets for other families who have lost their baby. In Hannah’s words, “Anonymously gifting handmade caskets is a deeply personal way for me to help parents express their grief in funeral and burial rituals from their particular religious, ethnic, or cultural background.”
Hannah stated on her application that her faith defines who she is. Her essays show how her faith guides her. In one she sets aside her friend’s disability turning it into an ability to wheel/run over that 5K finish line. In the other she turns a family tragedy into a healing gift for other grieving families. She states that her faith is why she chose to study nursing at Catholic University. To quote directly, “Catholic doctrine and teachings recognize and value the human dignity of all people – the essential component to caring for a patient. I believe that this vital lens for viewing the human person will carry over into the nursing program at Catholic University and help to shape my approach and response to those I will care for in the future.”
Though I’ve given a brief glimpse into Hannah, you can readily see why Hannah Mary Michaela Marino became the committee’s unanimous choice as the recipient of the Trinity College, Class of 1968, Anniversary Gift of $4000."
Hannah's Application Essays are posted here. Click on the Downloads options below to see her two essays as well as her history of accomplishments. Very impressive; easy to see why she was the compelling choice.
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