Ambler Farm Names Raymond Ambler Award Scholarship Winners
Ambler Farm named Henry McElligott and Sara Reiter, two graduating senior mentors in the farm’s Apprentice Program, as recipients of the Raymond Ambler Award. This award and scholarship recognizes outstanding contributions and dedication to Ambler Farm over many years.
Program Director, Kevin Meehan, shared a bit about each recipient.
“Henry is a thinker. It’s very rare that it gets awarded to somebody who thinks as much as I do, which is a blessing and it’s a curse at the same time! You got that for the rest of your life. But that is something that stands out about Henry. Sara was in charge before she was in charge here at the farm! That sums it up. She is take charge on everything,” Meehan said, adding, “They are both going to be pursuing different areas in the medical field. They are so unique in what they do and they’ve made a huge difference here at the Farm. Because they both love the Farm and we know that they love this place, it will impact them and their thoughts for the rest of their lives… But here’s the biggest compliment that we can give to anybody who’s been here at the Farm. The Farm is a better place because you were here. Kids are better because you led them. You made the difference, and you continue to do it right now. So, from us, thank you for making the Farm a better place.”
WHS Senior Josephine Coleman Wins Wilton Garden Club Scholarship Award Honoring Longtime Garden Club Member Marybeth Wheeler
Wilton Garden Club awarded its Marybeth Wheeler Scholarship to Wilton High School senior Josephine Coleman.
The scholarship, which honors Marybeth Wheeler, a WGC member for more than 50 years, is awarded annually to a WHS senior who has shown achievement in nature, horticulture, botany or ecology. WHS science teachers nominate candidates for the award.
Wheeler was a dedicated conservationist who had a special interest in preserving and propagating native flora. More than 1,000 plant species growing in and around Wilton that Wheeler and other WGC members collected can be viewed at Yale University Herbarium at the Peabody Museum of Natural History and the Wilton Library.
Garden Club officials said in a release that Coleman, an AP environmental science student, won the scholarship for multiple reasons: “She initiated and ran a successful book drive with her friend at school to reduce paper waste; she plans to pursue a career in environmental geoscience at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom (UK); and she participates in many other activities including school theater productions, Spanish Honor Society and ballet. She also works at the local British gift store in town called Penny Ha’Penny.”
Coleman was born in the UK and she looks forward to studying there next year. She knows the UK has made great progress in sustainability and wants to see firsthand if their methods could be applied to the U.S. and the rest of the world. “No matter our race, gender, religion, orientation, or creed, we all need the Earth,” Coleman said. “If we don’t come together to change our lives to be more sustainable, the future will be disastrous.”
Wilton’s Max Reznik is One of a Record Eight Art Scholarship Recipients Recognized for Achievement in Visual Art by Friends of Weir Farm
Wilton resident Max Reznik was one of eight local high school students who received the Friends of Weir Farm Art Scholarship, presented to local graduating high school seniors who expect to pursue a career in art.
The monetary award and certificate are awarded to students to recognize achievement in visual art, encourage artistic talent, and foster the creative spirit. The award honors the legacy of American Impressionist Julian Alden Weir and the generations of artists who created art at Weir Farm National Historical Park, America’s National Park for Art.
Student recipients are chosen by their respective high schools’ Art Departments. In addition to Wilton High School, awardees came from Bethel, Brien McMahon, Danbury, Joel Barlow (Redding/Easton), John Jay (Katonah-Lewisboro, NY), Norwalk and Ridgefield.
The awards were presented as part of each of the schools’ senior award ceremonies which took place in late May and early June.
“We are proud to honor these innovative young artists, and the Friends of Weir Farm wish them every success in the future,” Sheila Wakoff, Scholarship Committee Chair of the Friends of Weir Farm, said.
WHS Senior Cali Hage Wins the Wilton Woman’s Club 2024 Elizabeth Sternad Scholarship
Wilton High School senior Cali Hage is this year’s recipient of the Wilton Woman’s Club Elizabeth Sternad Scholarship, which was presented at the recent Wilton High School Award Ceremony. The scholarship is awarded to a Wilton High School senior girl who has demonstrated outstanding service, leadership and character, the ideals held dear to its founder Elizabeth Sternad.
In a press release, Woman’s Club officials said that Hage “excelled at Wilton High School both academically and athletically, having earned admission to the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society, and as a member of the field hockey, basketball, lacrosse and cross country teams. It was, however, her sustained and rigorous commitment to fighting hunger and food insecurity in the community and her leadership in those efforts that distinguished her among the many other applicants. She organized numerous food and clothing drives and volunteers with the Wilton Food Pantry, Domestic Violence Crisis Center in Stamford and Angel Network in upstate NY.
“I am so grateful to have received this scholarship. And I am looking forward to continuing to pursue efforts to combat food insecurity in the future.” Hage said after receiving the award.
The scholarship is named after Elizabeth Sternad, who founded the Wilton Woman’s Club over 50 years ago, in 1966. Sternad and friends started the Club to serve people and groups in Wilton and the surrounding community, to give back through philanthropy, to educate, and to strengthen bonds between women.