Samantha Parker, the 2021 salutatorian for Lynn English High, and Nicholas Passatempo, who graduated earlier this month from Lynnfield High, are this year’s recipients of the Greater Lynn Senior Services’ (GLSS) $5,000 scholarships given to college-bound seniors.
The scholarship, named for the late Executive Director Vince Lique, has been given to seniors chosen from high schools in Lynn, Lynnfield, Nahant, Saugus and Swampscott for more than 15 years.
The scholarships honor students who are interested in pursuing careers in health and human services, and who have made an impact in the world through community service.
“Every year, it is a challenge to choose just two honorees from among the many students who apply,” said GLSS Chief Executive Officer Kathryn C. Burns as she presented checks to the two graduates.
Burns said that Parker and Passatempo were chosen from a number of applicants by a committee that includes Lique’s wife, Kathy, staff from GLSS and community members.
Parker will attend Northeastern University in the fall and plans to pursue a career in medicine. Her interest in this field was formed in large part by the fact that her grandmother passed away from Alzheimer’s disease.
“Alzheimer’s disease took away my grandmother’s memories and left behind a shell of who she once was,” Parker said. “But as the disease stripped away what we’d once loved about my grandmother, it left a new version of her behind. This new version of her showed me how to have compassion and care for other people around me.”
As a result, Parker volunteered at a nursing home where she developed loving, caring relationships with many of the residents.
“Like Vince Lique, who demanded that everyone be treated with dignity and respect, I also want to advocate for equality and justice in the care that patients receive,” Parker said. “Throughout my volunteer experience, I listened to every resident and treated them with the respect and dignity they deserved, bending the rules as Lique did, doing things like assisting them with their meals, something the nursing home staff was unable to do.”
Passatempo will attend Endicott College and hopes to pursue a career in health sciences, possibly in the field of mental health counseling. Math teacher Joseph DiBiase describes Passatempo as an active and involved member of both Lynnfield High School and the community of Lynnfield itself.
“Nick has been a summer camp counselor, and volunteered in multiple roles around Lynnfield, such as Haven from Hunger, Habitat for Humanity and several clubs at school,” he said. “He is also an executive board adviser, a prestigious role where he is one of five students to organize and lead activities at Lynnfield High School.”
“More than 15 years after his passing, Mr. Lique is still powerfully impacting people’s lives in a tremendous way, including my own,” Passatempo said.
He describes the effect of volunteering to help others as “addicting.
“My time volunteering for Haven From Hunger was especially meaningful for me,” he said. “It was inspiring.”
“It is our distinct honor to offer these scholarships to such deserving young people — it truly gives us hope for the future,” said Burns. “I knew Vince Lique, and he would be incredibly proud of your achievements, your commitment to community and your compassionate approach to helping others.”
