Service affirms character. In a complicated world full of selfishness and meanness, Rotary stands out as an organization of compassion and caring. The Rotary Club of Eastchester encourages exceptional young people to develop as leaders who value service.
We offer three types of scholarships, all in honor of past Rotarians, who exemplified our motto of “Service Above Self.”
The Mario Faustini Award for Service Through Interact provides $2,000 to a graduating high school senior who, as a member of the Eastchester Interact Club, meets the following criteria:
Active participation in high school activities;
Active participation in community service; and
Above average high school average.
This year we awarded two scholarships of $2,000 each because we had no seniors in Interact last year.
One award was given to Tristen Comizio, the President of Eastchester Interact Rotary Club. She graduated from The Ursuline School in New Rochelle and has more extracurricular activities and community service than we can list here. Suffice it to say that the principal of The Ursuline School went out of her way to call us to commend us on such an excellent choice. Tristen will be attending Roger Williams University Honors Program and already plans to join their Rotoract Club.
Alyssa Dileo was our second Mario Faustini Award winner. She graduated from Eastchester High School with an average over 96, winning awards in a variety of subjects. In addition, she did much service, including Relay for Life and participation in events raising money for cancer research She played for several sports teams and will attend BinghamtonUniversity.
The John Bahr Scholarship for “Service Above Self” honors the memory of a dedicated teacher, administrator and Rotarian whose compassion, integrity, and decency touched the lives of all people who were blessed to come in contact with him. This $1,500 scholarship was awarded to a 2019 graduating senior who met the following criteria:
Active participation in high school activities, events, and/or projects;
Active participation in various community related programs;
Above average high school grade point average; and
Acceptance into a certified college, university, business or trade school.
Alexander Kim-Koutsis, who graduated Eastchester High School and plans to study mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, has an extensive resume of awards complemented by an average of 98%. His impressive AP scores stand out as do his scientific and environmental awards. He has even published a scholarly article in a science journal! Alexander is especially proud of creating a YouTube channel devoted to fostering positive behavior in the gaming community.
We had three winners of the Edward R. Ruffo Athletic Scholarship, which is awarded to student-athletes in the memory of a faithful Rotarian who exemplified the Rotary motto of "ServiceAboveSelf." This $1,500 scholarship was awarded to seniors who met the following criteria:
Superior achievement in varsity athletics, demonstrating leadership as recognized by coaches, team members and/or conference;
Exemplifies the Rotary motto of Service Above Self;
Academic transcript demonstrating potential for success in college; and
Acceptance into a certified college, university, business or trade school.
Our first winner was Molly Colasucco, the Student Government President of Tuckahoe High School, who had several years of involvement in school activities and much community service. With a 3.8 GPA, she plans to attend Marist College. Molly has expressed to help Rotary with Gift of Life.
The second and third awards were given to two excellent student-athletes from Eastchester High School.
Nicholas LoParrino will be attending the University of Michigan where he will major in Kinesiology/Biology. He served as Class President for three years and football captain for two. This was in addition to maintaining an excellent average. He wrote that “spending the rest of my life helping people...will make me one of the luckiest people on earth.”
Marc LoParrino, our third winner, will be attending the University of Miami and majoring in business. Like his brother, he was football captain and a winner of News 12 Westchester School Athlete of the Week. He belonged to several Honor Societies including the prestigious National Honor Society.
The Rotary Club of Eastchester is proud of all of its scholarship winners and will gladly help them in future endeavors!