High School Alumni Provide $10K to Grads

The Alumni and Friends of Belmont High School awarded a total of $10,000 in scholarships to four graduating seniors at the High School’s Senior Awards Day ceremony on June 1, bringing to $50,000 the amount of scholarship money the group has given in the five years since its inception.

The 2012 awardees are Shushan Martirosyan, who will enter Emmanuel College in the fall; Whitney Mulhern who will attend New York University; Hong-Biao Zheng, who will go to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; and Brendon Hurtubise, who heads to St. Louis University.    

 “We established this program as a 'thank you' to a town that has given us the opportunities and experiences that paved the way for rewarding futures. The lessons we learned in Belmont classrooms — teamwork, friendship, and camaraderie — have made our lives richer and now afford us the chance to give a bit back,” said Erich Ippen, who presented the awards on behalf of AFBHS along with fellow board member Penny Kirk.

“Just by graduating, you become one of us,” he told the graduating seniors, the newest alumni. “We wish you success and look forward to your joining us in this give-back effort in the future.”

Since AFBHS’s inception in 2007, more than 400 members and friends have made donations to the cause. The group welcomes support from the community at large as well as from all Belmont High School alumni. In addition to its annual awards, AFBHS is building an endowment. Within the endowment, specific funds have also been established in memory of T. Meldon Wenner, former athletic director of the high school, and in honor of the classes of 1958, 1959 and 1961.

The group’s board of directors and advisors are Belmont High School graduates, charged with raising money and managing the endowments. A separate committee of guidance counselors, teachers and administrators determines the scholarship recipients.

AFBHS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible as permitted by law. Belmont High School alumni, parents, friends and community members wishing to help the scholarship effort in any way are encouraged to write: AFBHS, PO Box 40, Belmont, MA 02478 or email: info@AFBHS.org. Further information and instructions for donating are available on the website: www.AFBHS.org.