One of the singular pleasures of the Agawam Rotary Club is the opportunity to provide scholarships to deserving graduates.
 
The Ray and Reita McCarroll scholarship is named for Ray McCarroll, one of the charter members of the Agawam Rotary Club and his wife Reita.  They were West Springfield residents and Ray was the manager of the Food Mart grocery store in Agawam.  Reita passed away in 2009 and a generous donation was made by her family after her passing in memory of the McCarrolls. 
 
The scholarship is presented to students who exemplify Rotary’s principal motto, “Service Above Self”, show leadership abilities and a desire to make a contribution in their home, school, community and country.
 
In recognition of the McCarrolls’ commitment to both communities, the Agawam Rotary Club awards two, $2,000 scholarships; one scholarship each to a student from West Springfield and a student from Agawam.
 
This year’s West Springfield recipient was Lauren Bolduc.  Her school activities included student government, Key Club, 3 sport (soccer, basketball, and track) athlete, and was the President of the History Club.  Her community involvement included Student Ambassador at Baystate Hospital, Teen Board member for the Ronald McDonald House, and active in Unify Against Bullying.  She will be pursuing a nursing degree at UMass Amherst.
 
The Agawam recipient was Mason Wesley.  Mason’s school activities included Science Club, student government and Chief of the AHS Chiefs (School Culture Improvement).  A track athlete, he gave back to the community as a music therapist (pianist) at Baystate Medical and as a volunteer for the summer youth track and field program.  He will be attending either Villanova or George Washington University.
 
This year, additional COVID-19 funding was made possible by the generous donations of Michael Bertera of Bertera Auto Group of West Springfield, MA ;  Don Cusson of Cusson Automotive of South Windsor, CT; and William and Nancy Bobskill of the Agawam Rotary Club.  They all believe strongly that it is vital to support young leaders in their goals of an education to make a better tomorrow for others.  The Agawam Rotary Club awarded $2,000 to both Sophie Coyne and Charlotte Kazalski, both of whom exemplify Rotary’s principal motto, “Service Above Self,” show leadership abilities, and a desire to make a contribution to their home, school, community and country.  Sophie Coyne is attending Mount Holyoke College for Political Science and Environmental Science and Charlotte Kazalski is attending Ithaca College of music education and aspires to be a middle school band director. 
 
The Agawam Rotary Club congratulates these outstanding young people.