Student Aid Fund Awards Record Number of College Scholarships

Although the pandemic prevented the Mamaroneck-Larchmont Student Aid Fund (SAF) from holding its annual Awards Ceremony, it awarded a record number of college scholarships to Mamaroneck High School seniors this June. Sixty-eight (68) need-based two-year scholarships, representing a commitment of $425,000, were awarded to 17% of the MHS graduating class. Over half of the scholarship recipients are the first generation in their families to attend college. With the economic toll of the pandemic leaving many local families with a loss of wages, the need was even greater this year.

An all-volunteer organization, the SAF depends on the generosity of its 500+ donors to fund the scholarships. Larger donors sometimes create special scholarships in memory of loved ones or to commemorate a special event. This year three such scholarships were set up by donors.

The first, the Arthur Fredston Scholarship, was established in his memory by his family, friends, and colleagues after his passing in 2019. According to his widow, Larchmont’s Ellie Fredston, who is a past president of the SAF, “the scholarship honors Art’s lifelong interests in education and international relations. He was a respected international business lawyer. He taught part time at Yale University while in law school and later at Pace College, was a mentor to many, a strong advocate of public education, serving on a public school board and supporting higher education.”

The recipient of the inaugural Arthur Fredston Scholarship is Alaina Jade Reyes. The first generation in her family to attend college, she in planning to study media arts production at Emerson College. Ms. Reyes shared what the scholarship means to her: “As a first-gen student - and with the crazy place the world is in right now - I wasn’t sure I’d have the opportunity to go to a good school. That’s why it is an incredibly important milestone for me and my family that I’ll be going to college next year and it warms my heart to know my community is part of why it’s possible.”

The second newly established scholarship, the Betty Miller and Jeffrey Miller Scholarship was set up by their surviving children, Steven, Cyral, and Donald, all of whom are MHS graduates. Both parents were deeply involved with education. Betty Miller taught English and Humanities at Mamaroneck High School for many years where her special focus was students with learning disabilities. Bernard Miller ran a national teacher enrichment program in the humanities program, in which he involved a significant number of MHS administrators and educators. The recipient of the Betty Milly and Jeffrey Miller Scholarship is Milan Alipui, who will be attending SUNY Oneonta.

The last special award was created anonymously by a District family in honor of Christopher Ward, a former Hommocks Middle School Earth Science teacher who also played an important role in setting up the Original Science Research (OSR) program at Mamaroneck High School. Mr. Ward passed away in April due to complications from COVID-19. The Christopher Ward Memorial Scholarship recipient is Liana Haigis, an ORS student who will be attending Brown University’s combined undergraduate-medical school program this fall.

In addition to the three new scholarships, awards included scholarships established/sponsored by a number of individuals and local not-for-profit organizations.

The Mamaroneck-Larchmont Student Aid Fund was established in 1937 to help MHS graduates afford college. For more information, please visit its website: https://www.mlsaf.org/.