FARMINGTON – Two local students received the first scholarships given by the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber President Matt Wotton presented a $750 scholarship to Donna Burbank of Weld at a breakfast held Tuesday morning at the Homestead Bakery. Emily Gordon of Kingfield, the other recipient, received hers during commencement at Mt. Abram High School, but she also attended the breakfast.

Gordon plans to pursue mortuary science at a college in upstate New York, Wotton said, while Burbank is returning to school to become a nurse. She will begin the Central Maine Medical Center program in Rumford for the first year and then travel to Lewiston to complete her degree, she said.

Burbank is a Weld native with four children, two who are grown, and works as a dental assistant. A nontraditional student in her late 30s, she made the decision to become a nurse and after seeing the chamber’s scholarship announcement, applied for it, she said.

Of 22 applicants for the scholarship, these two were chosen not just for their academic ability, said Lorna Nichols, chamber executive director. Along with their application, each had to submit an essay on their goals and aspirations after college and how their education and talents could benefit the business environment in Franklin County, she said. They also included community or club activities that they were involved in, she added.

Since the chamber promotes local businesses, it was looking for students who planned to return to the area and help the economic picture here, she said.

Gordon’s long-term plan is to return to Kingfield to begin her own funeral service, Nichols said.

Burbank has been a lifelong resident of Weld, and the chamber was impressed with the fact that she served as a Boy Scout and Girl Scout leader, Nichols said.

“That is a job that takes a real commitment and shows she is one of those people who go above and beyond. Anyone can be average but she’s above average,” Nichols added.

The chamber held a golf tournament last fall at Sugarloaf to raise funds to support the scholarship program, Nichols said.