Saugus River Watershed Council awards scholarships

SAUGUS – For four North Shore teenagers, graduating high school has given them more than a diploma and acceptance into college.Last month, The Saugus River Watershed Council awarded each of them with an environmental leadership scholarship worth $500.The recipients are Grace Stroman of Reading, Mark Panetta of Saugus, Carolyn Ryan of Melrose and Nicholas Barrett-Miller of Reading.The council’s executive director, Joan LeBlanc, explained that this was the first year that four winners were chosen.”This year’s pool of applicants was so strong that the selection committee decided to award four $500 scholarships for the first time,” she said. “It’s inspiring to see the accomplishments that these four students have made to their communities while maintaining excellent academic records.”LeBlanc explained that Panetta, a graduate of Malden Catholic High School, is also a member of Boy Scout Troop 62 in Saugus. She said he recently reached the highest rank of Eagle Scout “by implementing community service projects to clean up the local environment and donate winter clothes to kids in need.”LeBlanc explained that Panetta had started a recycling program while he was a student at Lynnhurst Elementary School and later volunteered with the Watershed and Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment.In addition, Panetta spent time in the Amazon Jungle in Peru.LeBlanc said he plans to delve into environmental science at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.Stroman and Barrett-Miller are both graduates of Reading High School. Stroman, who graduated with a 4.0 grade point average (GPA), will be attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst as a biology major.LeBlanc said Stroman received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the organization’s highest honor, by completing 80 hours of community service and completing a project entitled, “Get To Know Your Backyard: Reading’s Conservation and Open Lands.”In addition, Stroman established a new trail in the town forest and was president of the Environment Club at the high school.Barrett-Miller, one of Stroman’s club members, also contributed to the high school’s Envirothon and Science Olympiad Teams. Drawn to the outdoors by the prose of Henry David Thoreau, Barrett-Miller worked to refurbish Vitale Park on Ballard Street and hosted a ceremony to rededicate the park as well as to honor Saugus Police Officer Harold Vitale, who was killed in the line of duty in June 1985.LeBlanc said that Barrett-Miller plans to study business and environmental law at Suffolk University.Sporting a 3.95 GPA, Ryan is a graduate of Essex Agricultural and Technical High School. During her time there, Ryan participated in cleanups at Breakheart Reservation and at Spot Pond in Stoneham. She also volunteered with the Friends of the Middlesex Fells and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.”Carolyn has made a difference in her local environment by conducting cleanup projects and educating the public about the value of environmental stewardship,” said LeBlanc.Ryan is enrolled at the University of Maine at Orono where she plans to study wildlife ecology.