Nantucket Golf Club Foundation Awards 15 Vocational Scholarships
David Creed •
When the Nantucket Golf Club Foundation began its vocational scholarship program six years ago, the club’s chief operating officer and foundation’s executive director Tom Bresette hoped to see it blossom into something that could provide valuable assistance on an annual basis to a wider range of students that went beyond the graduates with plans to attend traditional four-year colleges.
The club's Vocational Scholarship Program was created to serve the sole purpose of providing support to Nantucket High School graduates who enjoyed great success in the NHS vocational programs and had plans to further their education in those fields after high school.
On Tuesday, Bresette and the Nantucket Golf Club Foundation announced at their sixth annual vocational scholarship ceremony that all 15 scholarship finalists would be receiving a partial scholarship to the college, university, or technical school of their choice. The families of each student will meet with Bresette and the foundation’s data and scholarship coordinator Susan McFarland to determine the amount of each scholarship.
This is the second consecutive year that the foundation has awarded scholarships to every finalist. They handed out scholarships to each of the 10 finalists in 2022.
The Golf Club Foundation has now handed out 42 vocational scholarships and continues to grow with 22 of those scholarships being awarded in the past two years.
“We have such great children on this island,” a choked up Bresette said to kick off the ceremony.
Examples of vocational programs include but are not limited to automotive, plumbing, woodworking, welding, photography, culinary, architecture, nursing, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.
Below are the 2023 recipients, the school they are attending, and their field of study.
Jack Billings:
School Attending: Wentworth Institute of Technology (MA)
Specific Field of Study: Construction Management
Edenilson Chacon:
School Attending: Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (MA)
Specific Field of Study: Practical Electricity
Samuel Cristler:
School Attending: University of Mississippi
Specific Field of Study: Sports Administration
James Cronin:
School Attending: Massachusetts College of Art
Specific Field of Study: Illustration
Stella Glowacki:
School Attending: Massachusetts College of Art
Specific Field of Study: Illustration and Communication Design
Hunter Gross:
School Attending: ECAM Lasalle (Lyon, France)
Specific Field of Study: Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
Maddux Hinson:
School Attending: Maine College of Art
Specific Field of Study: Photography
Evan Keeler:
School Attending: Johnson & Wales University (RI)
Specific Field of Study: Culinary Arts
Colin Lynch:
School Attending: Wentworth Institute of Technology (MA)
Specific Field of Study: Civil Engineering
Sara Marshall:
School Attending: Clemson University (SC)
Specific Field of Study: Nursing
Sean Murphy:
School Attending: University of Miami (FL)
Specific Field of Study: Sports Management
Olivia Scott:
School Attending: Simmons University (MA)
Specific Field of Study: Nursing-Pediatrics
Luke Stringer:
School Attending: Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Specific Field of Study: Marine Transportation
Nathalia Tobar:
School Attending: Cape Cod Community College (MA)
Specific Field of Study: Nursing-Infusion Therapy
Gabriel Zinser:
School Attending: Belmont University (TN)
Specific Field of Study: Music Performance
The Vocational Scholarship Review Committee includes Bresette, McFarland, department head and school counselor at Nantucket High School Courtney Foster, NHS wood technology instructor Michael Girvin, and president and chief operating officer of the Nantucket Cottage Hospital Amy Lee.
The Club continues to be an extraordinary resource for many students who graduate from NHS. The foundation was founded in 2002 and since that time, has raised $42 million over the past 20 years to benefit and support the youth of the island.
Below are some photos taken by Current photographer Chris Tran.
