PENTA encourages scholarship applicants
WESTBOROUGH, MA _ PENTA Communications, Inc. recently announced that it is seeking applicants for the 2012 Deborah A. Penta Female Leadership Scholarship award. This scholarship has been awarded to college-bound female Westborough High School seniors for the past seven years, and has been awarded to many of the town’s brightest young female leaders. Each year Deborah Penta, CEO of the Westborough-headquartered marketing firm is impressed by the caliber of applicants who submit applications.
“Our past recipients have been stellar examples of what it means to be a young female leader,” Penta said. “I look forward to having the opportunity to meet many of Westborough’s brightest young female leaders again this year.”
Penta created the scholarship for those young women at Westborough High School who have exemplified female leadership by achieving excellence in academic studies, through leadership achievement in sports or other extra-curricular activities, and through community service contributions and community leadership during their high school years.
Past scholarship winners have included: Emily Walsh who went on to Stonehill College; Nicole Pasternak Flynn, who went on to Villanova University; Kathryn Wilchynski, who went on to Northeastern University; Lindsay Poole, who went on to University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Madeline Fryer who went on to John Hopkins University.
Last year’s 2011 Deborah A. Penta Female Leadership Scholarship recipient, Katherine “Kasey” Packer, stood out for her well-rounded leadership in all areas, with her community service leadership emerging as a front runner in her long list of accomplishments. Packer is currently a freshman at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. working on the school’s paper and in the University’s “Events & Venues” office, where she helps to schedule and plan events that run the gamut from student organization protests on campus, to requests from the White House.
“Being at a school like George Washington University, in an incredible city like D.C., I feel surrounded by many wonderful women role models- from high ranking diplomats, congresswomen, senators, to my professors, and even some of my own peers. Everyday I wake up and consider myself lucky to be in such an ambitious, motivating environment,” Packer said. “I definitely think that receiving the Penta Scholarship fueled my desire to succeed, and certainly still plays a big part into how I handle myself in my new ‘world.’ The Penta award symbolizes women leadership, and a girl’s commitment to success, as well as a lesson I learned from Deborah Penta herself – that hard work and dedication can truly get you anywhere. I am a firm believer that nothing in this world is accomplished without passion, so take what you love to do and run with it.”
Applications for the $1,000 scholarships are currently being accepted with a postmark deadline of April 1, 2012. Criteria to be considered for the scholarship include exemplary leadership in academics, community-minded leadership experience and demonstrated leadership in extra-curricular activities. Young women who have played a role in giving back to the community are strongly encouraged to attend. In addition to a synopsis of course grades and a summary of leadership activities, applicants must submit three letters of recommendation from faculty members or individuals who can explain how the applicant has demonstrated leadership qualities at Westborough High School, on her team (s), committee(s) or place of employment; a listing of any charitable work the applicant has done during her school years, and a 200-word essay explaining why the applicant feels she should receive this scholarship.
Applicants should mail their submissions to: Deborah A. Penta Female Leadership Scholarship Committee, PENTA Communications, Inc., 182 Turnpike Rd., Westborough, MA. 01581.