AUBURN — Benjamin James Hallett is the 2020 winner of the Donald M. Gay Scholarship which is awarded to an Edward Little senior who has made outstanding contributions to the school’s arts programs during her/his four-year high school career.

Ranked seventh in his Edward Little High School graduating class, Hallett has been accepted at Rensselaer Polytechnical  Institute in Troy, New York, where he will major in engineering with a minor in music.  “Ever since I was in the fifth grade”,  Ben said “ when I participated in both band and chorus, music has been  a huge part of my life.  In a perfect world,  I would establish myself in the engineering field well enough for me to seek a career in music as either a performer or composer.”

His outstanding contribution to the arts programs at E.L., leading to his scholarship award, included the a cappella and chamber choirs, concert and jazz bands, drama club and the one-act play team.  Instrumentally, he played the piano, the saxophone and ukulele. His high school sports career involved four years of football, a year of basketball and two years of track.

This year’s scholarship, in the amount of $8,500, is made in honor of Mr. Gay who led Edward Little’s  outstanding band and chorus programs from 1954 through 1959. Since the 2001 creation of the scholarship by the E.L. Class of 1951, 21 E.L. seniors have received the award, which is to be presented on behalf of the student at the beginning of the sophomore year.

Copy the Story Link