Sean Gallagher Remembered With Scholarship

In remembrance of Sean Gallagher, his family is offering a scholarship to a student who embodies Sean’s love of music.

The Sean Gallagher Memorial Scholarship will be given out for the next three years to a student, chosen by the family, in need of financial assistance who is pursuing an education in music or a music-related field.

The board of education approved the $1,000 scholarship, to be disbursed 2011-2013, at its meeting April 12.

A 2010 graduate of Simsbury High School, Sean passed away in December 2010 and donations in his name were made to the Simsbury Land Trust and to Friends for Music and Performing Arts. Sean was an avid hiker and outdoor adventurer and a musician whose passion for music ran deep.

“The outpouring of donations to both was amazing,” wrote Karen Gallagher, Sean’s mother, in an email.

Thus the idea for a scholarship at the high school from the Friends for Music and Performing Arts was born. At the board of education meeting it was noted that $2,200 toward the scholarship has already been donated.

The three-year time frame coincides with the graduation of Sean’s sister, Erin, from high school.

“We all felt it was great that we can award the scholarship each of the next three years while she's at the high school. Erin is excited to be the presenter of the scholarship at the annual awards ceremony each year,”  Karen Gallagher said.

The family said to honor Sean, the criteria for the scholarship would be based on financial need and for students with a deep passion for playing music or for a music-related field. Sean was thinking of pursuing a career in sound engineering.

“We did not want academic excellence to be a criteria — Sean was not the best of students, and we want this scholarship to potentially help some student who is looking to further their academic training but who may not even think they could ever apply for a scholarship because their grades may be sub par,” Karen Gallagher said.

The student could be going to a trade school, community college, two-year or four-year school. There are no restrictions as long as it is to pursue further education or training in music or a music-related field.

“Thank you to the Gallagher family,” said Jack Sennott, chairman of the board of education at the meeting, noting the scholarship is a way to “remember a great kid.”

In the board packet about the scholarship, Sean was described as kind, sensitive and a person who “touched many lives with his caring, compassion and sense of humor. Sean was accepting of others and made friends everywhere he went.”

“We are proud of him and everything he accomplished in his short time here on Earth,” said Karen Gallagher. “He touched hundreds of people, kids and adults alike, with his warm and caring personality. He is missed by many and we hope he can continue to touch lives in a positive way with this scholarship.”