Lindsay Poole is awarded the 2009 Deborah A. Penta Female Leadership Scholarship

WESTBOROUGH _ Lindsay Poole, a 2009 graduate of Westborough High School, is this year’s recipient of the Deborah A. Penta Female Leadership Scholarship. Poole will attend the University of Massachusetts at Amherst this fall, and will major in broadcast journalism.

Lindsay Poole, a 2009 graduate of Westborough High School featured with Deborah Penta of PENTA Communications, Inc.

The Deborah A. Penta Female Leadership Award was founded in 2005 by Deborah Penta, CEO of PENTA Communications, Inc. to help inspire and acknowledge female high school students who excel in their leadership roles in academia, extra curricular and community activities.

We are delighted to award our 2009 Scholarship to Lindsay Poole. She has demonstrated exceptional leadership ability and is very focused on her dream of becoming a broadcast journalist, said Deborah Penta “Her excellent work ethic, commitment to developing herself as a leader, and her ability to balance honors classes, an internship, peer leadership and her love for the arts all contributed to her being the right choice for our scholarship this year.”

“I’ve been involved in the theater and singing since I was 8 years old. I’ve done some in front of the camera work because of that. I also am very interested in history and current events, so broadcast journalism seemed like a good fit,” Poole said.

She has currently been interning at Channel 3 in Worcester as an on-air personality, and working behind the scenes in broadcast scriptwriting.

“In school, Lindsay is an active peer leader. The Peer Leaders is a student organization whose goal is to help incoming freshmen make the transition into high school easier,” said Donna Goodliffe, Westborough High School Guidance Counselor. “Her responsibilities include freshman orientation and classroom presentations. Lindsay is a positive role model for underclassmen.”

Poole took strong college curriculum while in high school including 12 honors classes, as well as AP History and AP Statistics. She has been involved in the high school’s chorus for all four years, as well as concert choir. Additionally, she was chosen for Tri-M, the National Music Honor Society. Tri-M promotes leadership and excellence in music, academics and community service. She is also a member of the National Honor Society.

For the past four years Poole has been one the sitters for Allen and Lisa Edinberg of Westborough, and both parents felt she was a wonderful role model for their children.

“It is often difficult for teenagers to demonstrate leadership in meaningful ways. Yet, Lindsay demonstrates so many qualities of a natural leader. She knows herself, and is honest with herself, and others,” wrote the Edinbergs. “Lindsay sets and attains goals. She treats others with respect and earns their respect in return. We have witnessed that others follow her lead, effortlessly. With the leadership she demonstrates today, and the potential she holds, we expect to see great things from Lindsay throughout her college career and life.”

Being a leader is something Poole takes very seriously.

“Being a role model is very important and doing my best is very important to me,” Poole said. “It’s important for women to be assertive and be go-getters.”

Applicants for the scholarship must be college bound female high school seniors and are required to submit three letters of recommendation from a faculty member and other individuals, who can explain how the student has demonstrated leadership qualities/skills in her classroom, team, committee or place of employment. Applicants are encouraged to provide information on any charitable work they have done in the community during their high school years and must write a 200-word essay that conveys why she feels she should receive the scholarship. PENTA will accept applications for next year’s scholarship from January through April 2010. Applicants should mail their submissions to: Deborah A. Penta Female Leadership Scholarship Committee, PENTA Communications, Inc., 182 Turnpike Road, Westborough, MA 01581