Category: Scholarships

For the 25th year, the Narrow River Preservation Association (NRPA) has awarded scholarships to seniors graduating from high schools in the Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River Watershed. The scholarship honors the late Lesa Meng, an NRPA Board member, whose husband, Rick Moffitt, established the scholarship fund, enabling NRPA to provide $1000.00 scholarships to seniors graduating from high schools located in the Narrow River watershed. The 2017 Lesa Meng/Narrow River Preservation Association scholarships were awarded to Rosalind Lucier and Kate DeBoer (South Kingstown High School), Wyndom Chace (North Kingstown High School) and Danielle Donadio (Narragansett High School).

Rosalind Lucier, of South Kingstown High School, will be attending Wellesley College in Wellesley, MA in the fall, where she plans to study biochemistry. She has been a top performer in her SKHS classes and was ranked number 1 in her class. Rosalind was awarded Excellence in AP Biology and Excellence in AP Physics, as well as the Baush and Lomb Honorary Science Award. She is a recipient of the Girl Scout Gold Award. For her project, she created a children’s picture book, featuring Mark a talking quahog, who goes on adventures to educate the reader about the factors of climate change in Rhode Island.

Kate DeBoer is also a graduate of South Kingstown High School. Kate is planning on attending the University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI. She has been accepted into the 6-year pharmacy program (PharmD). Kate was also a past NRPA Science Fair winner for her work studying water quality. She has organized beach clean-ups at the Narragansett Town Beach. Kate has also earned the prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award. Her project focused on encouraging children to eat healthier in order to improve their mental and physical health.

Wyndom Chace, graduated from North Kingstown with the highest ranking in her class and has chosen Williams College in Williamston, MA. She plans to pursue environmental science and chemistry. She was a member of the summer marine research team in the Biology Department at Salve Regina University. She has had an opportunity to present posters at two conferences detailing her work on sea level rise in North Kingstown and a second poster on changes in land use and vegetation in NK. She was a nominee for Save the Bay’s 2016 Walsh Award for Outstanding Environmental Advocacy. Wyndom is also quite an accomplished pianist.

Danielle Donadio, a graduate of Narragansett High School, plans to attend the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH, where she is considering majoring in wildlife biology and conservation. Danielle is an honor student, a varsity athlete and a talented musician. She is a member of the RI Philharmonic Youth Wind Ensemble. In addition, Danielle is also a Level I Rehabilitator and volunteer at the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of RI. She helps with feeding and rehabilitation of animals ranging from turtles to opossum and seagulls.

Congratulations to our 2016 NRPA Lesa Meng College Scholarship winners:

Hayley Hebert, South Kingstown High School

Hayley has been a very active Girl Scout for 11 years, during which she participated in many environmental activities. She was also a volunteer at the Norman Bird Sanctuary where she assisted with the local Harvest Fair.

Hayley will be attending the University of Rhode Island in the fall and plans to major in Medical Laboratory Science with a minor in (you guessed it) Environmental Science.

Tyler Kumes, The Prout School

Tyler, shown here sporting a 2016 Narrow River Road Race T-shirt, has spent many volunteers hours with Save The Bay and NOAA caring for the New England Coast, but is now headed for the Left Coast to study ecology and environmental science at UC Santa Cruz.

Tyler was a member of the Recycling Club at Prout since his freshman year, where he started the school’s composting program. Tyler was a four-year member of the Cross Country team and the Captain of the Varsity Sailing Team.

Tracy Kurdziel, North Kingstown High School

As with her fellow honorees, Tracy has demonstrated a commitment to caring for the environment. For her senior project she worked with Rhode Island Resource Recovery to improve the recycling program at North Kingstown High School. She also volunteered for several Clean Ocean Access Beach clean-ups and attended meetings for the N.K. Conservation Committee. Tracy was also a member of the Girls Track and Field Team.

This fall she will attend Lafayette College and plans to major in Electrical Engineering with the hopes of exploring alternative energy sources when she graduates.

Congratulations to this year’s NRPA Lesa Meng College Scholarship recipients:

Jacob Baretta, a graduate of South Kingstown High School, will be attending the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He plans to study Oceanography/Marine Biology. He is a member of the National Honor Society and the Italian Honor Society. Jacob has been a volunteer for Save the Bay, a varsity baseball player on the SKHS team, and a volunteer and mentor for the South Kingstown Little League.

Dean Kareemo graduated from North Kingstown High School where he was a National Honor Society member, a member of the NKHS Symphonic Band and a guitar player for his own blues band. Dean will attend the University of Rhode Island and major in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Molecular Biology. Dean is a volunteer for Clean Ocean Access, participating in many beach clean-ups.

Jack Hall, a graduate of Narragansett High School, will study journalism at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. For the past three years, Jack has been a river monitor at Middlebridge for the NRPA River Watch program. He has also been an active participant in the Narragansett Chapter of the Future Farmers of America.

Erin Chille, a graduate of North Kingstown High School, will study Wildlife Conservation and Biology at the University of Rhode Island. Erin was a member of the R.I. Envirothon Team and President of the NKHS Science and Math Investigative Learning Experience (SMILE) team. She is a Girl Scout lifetime member and a Gold Award recipient.