AUBURN – Four $500 scholarships were presented at Rainbow Federal Credit Union’s 50th annual meeting. Rainbow Board member Pauline Langelier provided the details on why each student stood out academically in the application process.

Jessica Bradley, a 2003 graduate of Lewiston High School, is a junior at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass. She is pursuing a liberal arts degree in history and religion with the hope of eventually teaching elementary school.

Her interest in history was sparked when she worked at an Auburn retirement home and listened to the residents’ stories of the world wars and the Great Depression. Last summer, going on an archeological dig along the Roman road traveled by Julius Caesar on the Italian-Swiss border and living in a 1,000-year-old Augustinian monastery, she developed a passion for ancient history and religious studies.

In addition to maintaining a 3.68 grade point average, Bradley participates in the concert choir and competitive cheering at Mt. Holyoke and the University of Massachusetts Marching Band.

Katherine Hughes attends North Park University in Chicago. She is a nursing major and has a 3.25 grade point average. Hughes works in the Athletic Department and participates in indoor track. While in high school, she worked various jobs, volunteered for Big Brothers Big Sisters and participated in school activities ranging from athletics to class government to National Honor Society. Hughes is a graduate of Edward Little High School.

Rachel Nadeau, who graduated for St. Dominic Regional High School, is a freshman at the University of New England in Biddeford, where she plans to major in medical biology with the intention of earning a doctorate degree in ophthalmology.

Nadeau worked various jobs in high school, volunteered and participated in athletics. As a junior, she appeared on ESPN2 as a member of the “Maine Stars,” a competitive cheering squad that represented the state in a national competition in Texas. The team placed third in the competition. While at UNE, she played varsity soccer last fall and earned a 3.28 grade point average.

Harry Simms has been on the job for 12 years and is police officer for Norway. At one time he worked part time for three police departments while he worked full time as a corrections officer for Oxford County.

He has also worked as a substitute teacher at Oxford Hills Middle School, tutored problem students and volunteered in many situations where young people were the beneficiaries.

His ultimate goal is to become a chief of police. In order to achieve that goal, he is pursuing a four-year degree in justice studies at the University of Maine at Augusta. He has also attended the Maine Criminal Justice Academy and the University of Southern Maine where he earned an associates degree in law enforcement technology and was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society. His grade point average is 3.34. As a police officer, Simms has received letters of commendation.

Applications for the 2007 Rainbow scholarships will be available during National Credit Union Week, the third week in October.