ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Victoria Say receives the Carol Ruggiero Memorial Scholarship.
By MATT DEMIRS
LYNN — Memorial scholarships carrying on the legacy of two longtime Lynn educators were awarded to three graduating seniors at Lynn English High School Senior Awards Night.
Scholarships were awarded in memory of Tim Ring and Carol Ruggiero, who both died this past school year.
Graduates of Lynn English High School, Ruggiero and Ring both returned after college to become educators in the Lynn Public School system, before retiring after decades at their alma mater.
The recipients of these awards joined more than 80 graduating seniors receiving scholarships for their achievements.
Applicants for the Ruggiero Memorial Scholarship were asked to write an essay describing Mrs. Ruggiero as a teacher.
“One student described her perfectly,” said Principal Thomas Strangie, who presented the $2,000 scholarship.
“Mrs. Ruggiero had no videos or anything fancy. She sat behind her podium, lectured and kept me interested,” said Victoria Say in her essay.
Say said Ruggiero inspired her curiosity and sparked her interest to study history, which she plans to continue at Bryn Mawr College.
Ruggiero was a history teacher in the Lynn School System for 51 years. She often joked about teaching two generations of students.
Later in the ceremony, Lily Vu, Kiana Palomares, and Say were all awarded scholarships in honor of Tim Ring. Vu, student council president, earned the $2,500 scholarship awarded on behalf of the student council in honor of their beloved adviser.
Palomares and Say were awarded the Tim Ring memorial scholarship, a $1,000 scholarship for each student.
https://newitemlive.wpengine.com/news/arc-keeps-family-afloat-in-swampscott/
“The passing of Mr. Ring was a sad time for Lynn English High School,” said guidance counselor Matthew Wilkins, who presented the award. “He added so much to this community.”
Ring was responsible for the restoration and preservation of the Lincoln statue and foyer, the addition of “Champ” the bulldog to the school’s foyer, and a successful yearbook while serving as the adviser.
Not to mention, Ring always contributed his fun-loving personality.
Wilkins told his favorite memory of Ring, which best exemplified the psychology and Lynn-History teacher everyone adored.
“He used to have an lesson that was entirely dedicated to Fluff in Lynn and he would tell kids that Fluff oozed up from the ground like oil and lava,” he said. “It’s the city of Lynn white gold, he would say.
His fun and loving nature was able to capture their attention and get the students interested in local history,” said Wilkins, remembering his silly yet sincere colleague.
Ring was a teacher at Lynn Public Schools for 39 years.
“They were two English grads who continued to give well after they graduated. Scholarships were established so they could keep giving long after they are gone,” Strangie said.
Ring and Ruggiero were only two of the many awards on the two-page spread on the program. In fact, scholarships awarded to seniors on Wednesday night totaled almost $600,000, said Wilkins.
“These benefactors, alumnae, school and community organizations, and everyone else providing scholarships for our seniors want to make sure you, as students, feel accomplished and worthy as anyone out there,” he said.
Matt Demirs can be reached at [email protected]
