Fairhaven Historical Society awards scholarship
Press release
The Fairhaven Historical Society is pleased to announce the awarding of the Enrique Goytizolo Scholarship to Miss Carlie Francis of Fairhaven High School.
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- Enrique “Ricky” Goytizolo presents the 2025 Enrique Goytizolo Scholarship to Miss Carlie Francis of Fairhaven High School. Submitted photo.
Carlie Francis captained both her Field Hockey and Lacrosse teams and was vice president of the National Honor Society.
She plans to enter the six-year pharmacy program at Western New England University in Springfield, MA.
She is a graduate of Fairhaven High School Class of 2025.
West Island Celebrates Scholarship Winners
Press Release
On Sunday, July 20th, The West Island Scholarship Committee held their annual Scholarship Ceremony and Breakfast. Since 1985, the West Island Improvement Association (WIIA) has been awarding scholarships in support of young adults with furthering their education. Since 2014 alone, the association has awarded $33,000 to deserving students!
To be eligible for a scholarship, a student must be a child or grandchild of an active WIIA member. Eligible students must complete an application in which they are blindly assessed by the Scholarship Committee in areas that address to what extent they have been successful in academics; participated in extra-curricular activities; had employment and/or volunteer experiences; and are connected to the West Island community. Students are also asked to write an essay.
Once again this year, the Scholarship Committee had some very strong applicants and the WIIA awarded three $1500.00 scholarships to the following deserving students.
The first scholarship winner, Nora Booth, is a graduate of Medfield High School where she was a member of both the National Honor Society, as well as an Officer of the National Spanish Honor Society.
In her scholarship essay, she described West Island as, “My happy place. It’s where I feel most at home.” She reflected on the sense of human connection within the community and the kindness, warmth, and generosity of those around her. For it is there that she met her childhood friend and formed a deep connection that has now pointed her in the direction of a career in healthcare. This fall, this young lady will start her post-high school education by setting off for Seville, Spain in a semester abroad program enabling her to be fully immersed in Spanish where she can further develop her language fluency. Then come January, she will step foot onto the campus of The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia with plans to enter their pre-physician’s assistant program.
May Carroll, the second awardee attended a district with a French immersion program from K-8th grade, gaining fluency in reading, writing and speaking, which earned her the challenging Seal of Biliteracy in French. She was also a member of the National Honor Society, an MVP in Soccer, and team captain in lacrosse.
May found that spending time on West Island gave her life the harmony she sometimes felt was missing in her life. This fall she will head to French speaking Montreal to attend McGill University where she will have the opportunity to utilize her French skills. May enjoys forensics and is passionate about learning how people’s brains work, so she plans to major in Criminology.
The final awardee, Spencer Kaufman, is a young man with a strong focus on community service and the outdoors. He has earned the status of Eagle Scout, an accomplishment that requires dedication, perseverance, and a significant time commitment to achieve. He has pushed himself even further to acquire an additional 6 Eagle Palms in scouting.
With his love of the outdoors, it is no wonder that he described West Island this way, “The island is home to a diverse group of people who share a common love for the natural beauty and tranquility that the island offers… West Island is a place of adventure and exploration.”
Like the other awardees, Spencer feels deeply connected to West Island and its vibrant community. He also has a passion for computer science and already holds the challenging Cisco coding certification. So this September, Spencer will attend Hagerstown Community College in Maryland to study Cybersecurity with plans to complete a degree program in Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity at the University of Maryland.
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Click here to download the 7/31/25 issue: 07-31-25 FAYAB12U
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