NewPage 2009 Engineering Scholarship recipients are pictured. From left are David Lawrence and Patrick Gallagher, Telstar Regional High School; Doug Nash, Leavitt Area High School; Garrett Kilfoyle and Kyra Gould, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School; Sue Mills, Rumford Mill scholarship coordinator; Travis Ruff, Mountain Valley High School; and David van Soeren, Rangeley Lakes Regional High School.

NewPage scholarship recipients are honored

RUMFORD – The 2009 NewPage Engineering Scholarship recipients, along with their parents, visited the mill May 22 to attend an awards luncheon honoring their selection for scholarship.

A tour of the R15 paper machine and an overview of the co-op and ACE program opportunities the mill offers future engineers were included.

The high school graduates were selected based upon their essays, “Why I Choose to Pursue a Career in Engineering,” community service, leadership experience and extracurricular participation.

Each of the following students was granted a $2,000 scholarship from the Rumford Mill:

Douglas Nash, Leavitt Area High School, son of Steven and Dawn Nash, will attend the University of Maine in Orono. Nash attended the Consider Engineering Program sponsored by the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation at the UMO campus last summer.

His community service projects include helping teach children basketball skills in a local youth program, participating in several church productions for an outreach program and engaging in volunteer activities at school and in the community, sponsored by the National Honor Society.

Nash’s leadership experience includes being elected captain of the varsity basketball team his junior and senior years as well as captain of the football team his senior year.

Other extracurricular activities he enjoyed include baseball and the Latin Club, as well as the math team his senior year.

Nathan Theriault, Leavitt Area High School, son of Rick and Mona Theriault, will attend the University of Maine in Orono.

His community involvement includes landscaping at the town park, assisting with bottle drives, improving and mapping out the Leavitt Area High School Nordic ski trails, building a fence for a local cemetery and horseshoe pits for the town beach area as a Boy Scout.

His leadership experience includes being a Boy Scout patrol leader, assistant patrol leader and senior patrol leader, as well as a brass section leader for the Leavitt Marching Band.

Other extracurricular activities include the Nordic ski team, concert band, jazz band, student pilot, white water kayaking, downhill skiing and the Latin Club. He is working toward achieving Eagle Scout status.

Travis Ruff, Mountain Valley High School, son of Brenda and Howard Ruff, will attend the University of Maine in Orono.

Ruff volunteered as a coach for grades two to four floor hockey at the Greater Rumford Community Center for two years, volunteered as an AAU basketball coach for a local team this spring and has refereed games for younger AAU teams.

His leadership experience includes being elected captain, and earning Campbell/MVC All Star status, his senior year in football, basketball and tennis, sports he played throughout his high school career. He also attended Boys State his junior year.

Outside of school and sports, Ruff is employed seasonally at the Matterhorn Restaurant and for the town of Rumford.

Garrett Kilfoyle, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, son of Steve and Doreen Kilfoyle, will attend the University of Maine in Orono.

Kilfoyle has been a student mentor at the Fox Elementary School, a referee for area youth football, a volunteer at the Norway Rehabilitation Center and a student tutor at his high school through the National Honor Society.

His leadership experience includes being elected treasurer of the Student Council and National Honor Society and head of fundraising for the Student Council his senior year. His extracurricular activities include football, track and field.

Kyra Gould, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, daughter of Robyn Gould and Adam Tsapis, will attend Carnegie Mellon University in the fall.

Gould’s volunteer resume includes being a student facilitator for Wellness Day, a group leader for the Diversity Leadership Institute, a stage manager, actress and make-up designer for the Maine One-Act Festival as well as for her school Drama Club.

Her leadership experience includes secretary of the Respect Team, vice president and treasurer of the Interact Club, co-president of the National Honor Society, initiator and student coordinator of the Alcohol Awareness Day, and coordinator of food and logistics for a teen summit, as well as a delegate for Model United Nations and a volunteer at the Special Olympics her freshman and sophomore years.

Her extracurricular activities include track and field and cross country running. She has been employed by Maple Spring Farms since her eighth-grade year, at Shawnee Peak as a snowboard/ski instructor, as a teacher for the Learning Opportunities for Kids program and as a courtesy boat inspector for the Lakes Environmental Association.

David van Soeren, Rangeley Lakes Regional High School, son of Barbara Jennings and Ernest van Soeren, will attend Clarkson University. He participates in American Red Cross blood drives, performs community shows with the Drama Club and participated in a Shoulder to Shoulder clean-up day his freshman year.

He has been elected treasurer of his class since his sophomore year, as well as captain of the soccer team his senior year, and was selected by high school staff as a Student of the Month.

Extracurricular activities include soccer, basketball, chorus, cheerleading, Green Club and Math Team. His work resume includes professional dock installation and the Country Club Inn in the summer, Saddleback Mountain in the winter and Oquossoc Grocery year round.

Patrick Gallagher, Telstar Regional High School, son of Tom and Elizabeth Gallagher, will attend Maine Maritime Academy.

Gallagher’s community volunteer efforts have focused mainly on St. Catherine’s youth ministry, including making cards for shut-ins and troops overseas, acting as an altar server, running and maintaining the cymme.org communications for the youth ministry of the Portland Diocese on behalf of the CYCC Catholic Youth Communication Council.

He also served Thanksgiving dinner to senior citizens and organized food drives as a member of the National Honor Society, volunteered as a counselor for Camp Susan Curtis, helping fifth-graders develop team-building and problem-solving skills, and assisted freshmen acclimate to high school as a member of FACT.

His additional leadership experiences include being a group leader for the Catholic Maine Youth Ministry, heading up the Telstar’s Winter Carnival pep rally and administrator for the photo/video projects at CYCC. Other extracurricular activities include being a member of the soccer and the state cross country ski team multiple years and being a four-year letter winner in track and field.

David Lawrence, Telstar Regional High School, son of Don and Johanna Lawrence, will attend the University of Maine in Orono.

His involvement with the Boy Scouts, Western Maine Mountain Jeepers and Telstar’s concert band have resulted in community volunteer experiences, including parades, fundraising, providing rides for special needs children, doing trail maintenance and mapping, and performing at community events.

His leadership experience includes senior patrol leader for Boy Scouts and trail guide for the Jeep Jamboree USA. Additional extracurricular interests include Pep Band and being the light and sound director for drama productions.