Local Teen Receives Irish Heritage Scholarship

The Sound Shore St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee announced on Tuesday its selection of Catherine "Cassie" White of New Rochelle as one of two inaugural Sound Shore Irish Culture Scholars. 

According to a prepared statement, White will receive $2,500 toward academic expenses as she enters college in September. White plans to study acting and stage design at Case Western University in Ohio.

White was selected due to her exemplary records of academic achievement, her shared commitment to her community and her to promoting Irish heritage. 

“The purpose of the Sound Shore St. Patrick’s Day Parade is to promote the development of a strong community, bound together by a shared appreciation of Irish culture, the arts and public service,” said Christopher Regan, chair of the Sound Shore St. Patrick’s Day Parade scholarship committee in a release. According to Regan White exemplifies these values. 

According to the statement, White’s love of Irish heritage first came through stories about her grandmother and namesake, Catherine McDaid O’Donnell, who was widowed and raised seven children on her own in America and lived to age 98.  Cassie then developed a fascination for the Gaelic language, which she intends to study at college, as well as the music of Orla Gartland and other Irish folk singers.    
 
White, who is an avid volunteer, organized the holiday, food and coat drive at the Sound Shore Medical Center, and mentors at the Holy Family Youth Ministry. According to the release, White received the President’s National Volunteer Service Award in 2013.     

The Sound Shore St. Patrick’s Day Parade Organization is a community-based, volunteer-led group organized to promote Irish culture and community in the Sound Shore towns of Mamaroneck, Larchmont, Rye, New Rochelle, Harrison, Port Chester and Pelham. 

For more information about the Sound Shore St. Patrick’s Day Parade Organization and its activities, visit www.soundshoreparade.com.