RUMFORD — Nathan Fitzpatrick of Mountain Valley High School, Derek Talbot of Sanford High School and Zechariah Palmeter of Bangor Christian School were honored with scholarships from Mainely Character, an organization that awards scholarships based on character: integrity, courage, responsibility and concern for others.

Nathan Fitzpatrick, a graduate of Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, received a $5,000 Mainely Character scholarship, sponsored by R.M. Davis, Inc.

Fitzpatrick impressed the scholarship committee with his tenacity and sense of responsibility. Fitzpatrick refused to have his life defined by a series of serious family challenges, including an autoimmune disease that has stricken his mother. Instead, his scholarship application stressed that he wants “to be a better man today than yesterday.”

“Nathan is an impressive young man who has a maturity well beyond his years,” said Peter Richardson, vice president of R. M. Davis, Inc. “He refuses to let life’s difficulties get the best of him, and realizes that he is responsible for overcoming the challenges that are put in his way; he knows he is responsible for his own happiness.”

Fitzpatrick will attend Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva, N.Y.

Sanford High School graduate Derek Talbot received a $2,500 Mainely Character Scholarship, sponsored by Market Decisions.

Zechariah Palmeter, a 2014 graduate of Bangor Christian School, received a $2,500 Mainely Character Scholarship, sponsored by Northeast Bank.