Nancy DiGrezio Memorial Scholarship

• Description of Scholarship
• Previous Scholarship Winners 

The Nancy DiGrezio Memorial Scholarship was established in 2007 in memory of former YWCA Board Member Nancy DiGrezio, a long-time local advocate for social justice.  The scholarship is awarded annually  to a high school senior who lives or attends school within the YWCA Greater Newburyport's service area* who is a leader and peacemaker among her or his peers; whose actions exemplify tolerance and understanding of differences; and who, by example, empowers other students to respond to acts of intolerance and discrimination.

The YWCA will accept scholarship applications beginning on the national celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. An application screening committee of YWCA Board and community members will select the scholarship recipient. The scholarship will be announced at the Annual Meeting of the YWCA Greater Newburyport in April and will be awarded to the recipient at the year-end senior awards assembly at the recipient’s high school, so that he or she may be recognized in front of his or her peers, teachers and family.

*The YWCA Greater Newburyport serves the thirteen communities of Newburyport, Newbury, West Newbury, Salisbury, Amesbury, Merrimac, Georgetown, Rowley, Ipswich, Seabrook, Hampton, Hampton Falls, and Kensington.

Previous Scholarship Winners

2010 | Mark Bajko| Newburyport High School
		Mark of Newburyport High School worked with the Junior Clippers, a local chapter of the Special Olympics of Massachusetts since its inception.  He served as a mentor for four years to one student athlete, served as an assistant coach for the program and worked to help organize the chapter.  “The fulfillment comes when you see the kids score their first goal; shoot their first basket, or simply high-five another athlete….Special Olympics is a program that has sincerely changed me for the better.”

2009 | Sarah Murray | Triton Regional High School
		Sarah was a National Honor Society Officer, a Community Service Officer and mentor at Triton High School. She worked on a Habitat for Humanity project and participated in the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walks. To quote Sarah, “In ten years from now I want to be changing people’s lives for the better, impacting people to be knowledgeable and accepting, and I want to leave my community a better place than when I came in.”

2008 | Emily McGranachan | Georgetown Middle High School
		As president of the Civil Rights Team at Georgetown High School, Emily worked hard to teach all forms of tolerance. She introduced "Gay, fine by me" t-shirts, managed a homelessness information campaign, organized dinners at a local senior center, and fundraised for a school in Wunlang, Sudan. She was also a volunteer with Horizons for Homeless Children and a member of Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere.

2007 | Lila Teeters | Pentucket Regional High School
		As a high school member of the YWCA Board of Directors, Lila led the YWCA Teen Racial Justice Group and organized teens on a regional level to address issues of race and intolerance. She also co-chaired the 2007 Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast, co-sponsored by the YWCA and the Newburyport Commission for Diversity and Tolerance.

Return to top

13 Market Street, Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950 | Phone: 978-465-9922 | Fax: 978-465-1076