Three Newtown HS Students

Are Finalists For Weller Scholarship

Newtown High School seniors Tate Knowles Hoeffel, Ami Kilchevsky and Joshua Stern have been selected from a group of 19 applicants to compete for the annual $10,000 scholarship in honor of the late Barton L. Weller.

Entrants were required to submit proposals for projects in any field of study in which they have an interest. Finalists were selected on the basis of originality, format of the proposal, project potential, and care with which the proposal and its planned implementation have been thought through. Each finalist received $100 to help defray expenses during the five-month project period.

Tate’s project is entitled “A Model United Nations Convention at the High School Level.” Her objective is to create a student body that is informed of the operation and importance of the UN. Her final project will be the creation of the first annual mock United Nations convention at the high school level.

Ami’s project is entitled “Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process In-Lieu of the 1993 Oslo Accord.” His objective is for the school and the community at large to gain a better understanding of the delicate issues concerning peace in the Middle East. He hopes to conduct public presentations throughout the community where he will lead discussions about the difficulties faced by the negotiators of the peace accord. From these discussions, Ami hopes to generate his own diplomatic strategies that may lead to enduring peace.

Joshua’s project is entitled “Why Vote? A Study of the Factors which Influence Voter Turnout in Connecticut State Elections.” Joshua’s objective is to study Connecticut state elections from the World War II years to the present day and identify the factors that have served to affect voter turnout either positively or negatively. He plans to compose a research paper that will describe such factors and analyze the role that they have played in Connecticut electoral participation. His paper will include suggestions for increasing citizen participation in the electoral process.

Tate is the daughter of Mr and Mrs Christopher Hoeffel of Sandy Hook; Ami is the son of Mr and Mrs Eitan Kilchevsky of Newtown; and Joshua Stern is the son of Mr and Mrs Michael Stern of Newtown.

The scholarship will be awarded at a dinner to be held on May 10 at Fairfield University. At that time, the scholarship will be presented to the student whose project is judged to be the best. Four runners-up will receive $400 as compensation for completion of their projects.

Barton L. Weller was the founder of Vitramon, Inc., in Monroe.

Established in 1977, the scholarship’s purpose is to encourage academic excellence in a substantial independent research or study project. The scholarship is open to senior-year students at Joel Barlow, Masuk, Newtown, Shelton and Trumbull High Schools.