JWC Awards Three High School Seniors $1,000 Scholarships

MILFORD - On Wednesday, June 7th, the Junior Woman's Club of Milford presented Joey Cichowski, Samantha Lavallee and Lauren Roth each with $1,500 scholarships for their continued education. The scholarships are awarded annually to high school seniors who have shown exemplary academics and devotion to the Milford community.

Samantha Lavallee will attend the University of Connecticut in the fall to study nursing. Sam had a realization while volunteering as a cheer coach that changed how she approached her volunteer experience. She initially focused on the technical aspects, but realized that her impact on these young girls was greater than just being a coach. They looked up to her as a role model and source of support. Sam also developed relationships with patients she served in the Certified Nursing Assistant program and she hopes to continue to give her time to these patients in the future.

Joey will attend Boston College in the fall to study nursing. Joey's exceptional service was reflected through his coaching of the little league team. As a freshman, he was disappointed when the pandemic canceled his spring season of baseball, yet he rose above this disappointment and worked with others to pull together a summer program for the Milford Little League so that they could still get outside and experience what being a part of the team was like. He has volunteered his time not only coaching, but doing whatever was needed. It was something that he always loved as a younger player and it was important to him that the younger boys get to have that same experience.

Lauren will attend Eastern CT State University in the fall and plans to study psychology. Lauren inspired us with her desire to support other teens and young adults to help them in their mental health journey. She has aspirations to help create a drop-in-teen center; a safe space to go to be around people who can build them up and understand where they are coming from. Lauren has aspirations to help develop courses on mindfulness, meditation, self care and coping skills to the schools.

The Junior Woman's Club had the pleasure of reading through nearly 40 applications of wonderful graduating seniors that will no doubt make our city proud. Congratulations to Joey, Sam and Lauren for earning this year's scholarships, we wish you much success in the next step of your journey!

The Junior Woman's Club of Milford is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded on the principles of promoting education, public health, philanthropy and service to the Milford community. Our programs include the Citywide Spelling Bee, Community Excellence Award, Adopt-A-Spot, and the Respect Campaign.