Fire Department Hands Out Scholarships, Welcomes Cadets

Westwood Fire Chief Chris Kelley presented three borough students with scholarships from the and welcomed two new fire cadets during the Westwood council meeting Tuesday night.

Michelle Leao, Michael Penn and Brian McNeely received the Community Service Scholarship from the department, which is awarded based on scholastic achievement, extra-curricular activities and community service. The money can be used for tuition, room and board, fees and books for the upcoming academic year.

Leao, who attended , excelled in all three areas. She was an excellent student, taking seven AP courses with an overall GPA of 4.33. She is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society, the Academic Decathlon and the Math Team. She was also the Senior Editor of the school newspaper, Cardinal Chronicle. She was captain of the field hockey team for the past school year and received a varsity letter all four years while on the team. She received a varsity letter for golf for three years.

Leao earned her Girl Scout Gold Award in November for creating a program to teach about internet safety. She presented to 200 teenagers and separate groups at local libraries. She volunteered as a member of Heroes and Cool Kids and Peer Pals in high school and through her church she was a counselor for Summer Bible Camp and helped others prepare for their confirmation. She joined the after turning 16. She will attend The College of New Jersey in the fall and may pursue a career in medicine.

Penn, another Westwood High School student, is a member of the National Honor Society and National Art Honor Society. He earned three varsity letters for track and was heavily involved in the Westwood Performing Arts Group, serving as assistant stage manager and running crew chief. He was part of Westwood Interact, Peer Pals, Heroes and Cool Kids and Marine Fitness.

Penn earned his Boy Scout Eagle Award last spring by leading other scouts in a landscape improvement project at . He also works at . He will attend Stony Brook University in the fall.

McNeely, who graduated from Bergen Catholic High School, is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honors Society), the Spanish National Honors Society and the National Art Honor Society. He was editor of his school newspaper, volunteered with the Red and Gold Club and served as a peer minister. He also participated in track in both the winter and spring.

McNeely earned his Boy Scout Eagle Award after completing a service project at , which refurbished a room used for a playgroup. He has also been a peer minister for two years at the church. McNeely plans to study digital media at the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.

Mayor John Birkner Jr. congratulated the scholarship recipients and said he had previous experience with two of them. "I had the pleasure of speaking at Michael Penn's Eagle Award ceremony and Michelle is the captain of my daughter's field hockey team and she's a tremendous role model," he said.

Also at the council meeting, the fire department welcomed two new fire cadets, Adam Loyola and Andrew Cavaniola. Birkner swore in both young men and congratulated them.

"Westwood's youth is serving us well," Birkner said.