Total Awards Top $50k, Part of Broader Collaboration on Education & Workforce Development.
MGHPCC press release
Holyoke, Massachusetts, June 6, 2019 – Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse today announced the winners of two scholarship awards totaling $5,000 from the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) to Holyoke Public School students. Now in its sixth year, the MGHPCC merit-based scholarship program has awarded more than $50,000 in grants so far.
“I’m grateful to the MGHPCC and its member institutions for their support of the scholarship program, which is just one part of our collaboration around education and workforce training,” said Morse. “We’re fortunate to have such great partners.”
“Providing educational and training opportunities to local students is an important part of our mission as well as our commitment to Holyoke,” said John Goodhue, executive director of the MGHPCC. “The scholarship program is particularly rewarding because it helps smooth the path for deserving students who have demonstrated a desire to make the extra effort to succeed.”
This year’s scholarship recipients are Helena Middleton and Sarah Sirkissoon, both will attend UMass Amherst in the fall. Helena will major in biology and Sarah will study economics and political science.
“Sarah and Helena are hard-working students who earned this recognition and support, and I have every confidence that they will succeed in their academic careers and beyond,” said Dr. Stephen Zrike, superintendent of schools. “We are grateful to the MGHPCC for creating this opportunity for deserving students.”
The MGHPCC scholarship program is open to any Holyoke Public School student enrolling at one of the five founding institutions of the MGHPCC: Boston University, Harvard University, Northeastern University, MIT or UMass. It is open to students in any major and not limited to students of computer science or other scientific disciplines. Recipients are chosen based on an 800-word essay answering the question, “What do you see as the three biggest challenges currently facing Holyoke, and what would you do to address them?”
In addition to sponsoring the scholarship program, the MGHPCC works with the mayor’s office, Holyoke Public Schools, Holyoke Community College, Springfield Technical Community College and local community service organizations to host internships, robotics competitions, teacher workshops, after-school classes, programming courses, career awareness days and summer camps.
Story image: From Left to Right: Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse, Holyoke students Helena Middleton and Sarah Sirkissoon, Dr Stephen Zrike, superintendent of Holyoke schools, and John Goodhue, executive director of the MGHPCC.
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