Middle School Scholarship Recipients

MassMutual announces local middle school scholarship recipients

SPRINGFIELD MassMutual Financial Group announced the recipients of 30 scholarships awarded to area middle school students, enabling them to attend select private high schools in Springfield tuition-free.

The 30 students will receive the scholarships to attend Cathedral High School, The MacDuffie School or The Pioneer Valley Christian School. Recipients were awarded the scholarships based on academic performance, financial need and community involvement.

"As a company, MassMutual believes we can have the greatest impact on the community by expanding educational opportunities for students," said Ron Copes, corporate vice president of Community Relations at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual). "We're proud to award these scholarships to these youths, and we wish them well as they work toward future academic success."

Last year, MassMutual announced a new component of the MassMutual Scholars initiative, in which the company will award 30 scholarships annually for the next four years to middle school children in Hampden and Hartford counties to attend one of the three private high schools. Ten scholarships per school will be granted annually for a total of 120 scholarships for the duration of the program. The scholarships will cover tuition for all four years. Recipients will begin their freshman year at the schools in the fall.

Students must maintain a "B" average or better while in school to retain the scholarships. They applied for the scholarships through each school, and each respective school determined the recipients.

Students who currently attend one of the three schools are not eligible for the scholarships. The scholarships are available only to Hampden and Hartford County eighth graders who are about to enter high school.

Through all organization-wide educational initiatives, MassMutual is providing nearly $1.5 million in scholarship funding to students in 2005.

The following recipients received scholarships for each respective school:

Cathedral High School: Edward Green, Javaughn, Kenya Hayles, Caitlyn Kirby, Brittany Parker, Gregory Parrott, and Sinely Vegerano, all of Springfield; Vanessa Bartolo of East Longmeadow; Tyler Galarneau of Chicopee and Michael Vescio of West Springfield.

The MacDuffie School: Renee Berard, Eric Gonzlaez, Sarah Gordon, Katie Martin, Ingrid Messbauer, Magen Pinette, Taina Polanco, and Brittany Rainville, all of Springfield; Sandra Rumyantsev of Southwick; and Debbie Marie Koslosky of Indian OrchardPioneer Valley Christian School: Harmony Alvarado, Andrey Bonarenko, Yessenia Catala, Catherine Cosby, Autumn Forest, Xsandria Hill, Rebecca Marshall, Tatiana Myrick, and Vladoslov Zenchenko all of Springfield; and Nicholas Sheehan of West Springfield.