Applications For $2,500 Meserve Scholarships Due March 16

WILTON — Local high school seniors and graduates pursuing a college degree in the environmental sciences or a medically related field are encouraged to apply for $2,500 scholarships from The Meserve Memorial Fund before the March 16 deadline.

Students living in Bethel, Brookfield, Bridgewater, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Redding, Ridgefield, and Sherman may apply. Financial need is not a requirement.

Last year, $60,000 in scholarships was awarded. Eight local high school seniors received first-year scholarships and 16 previous recipients received renewal scholarships.

Environmental sciences include agriculture, animal husbandry, ecological studies, forestry, marine biology, oceanography, and other specialties. Medically related fields of study include, but are not limited to, premedicine, nursing, and medical research.

Applications are available from guidance departments at area high schools. They can also be downloaded from the Fairfield County Community Foundation web site, fccfoundation.org. The Meserve Memorial Fund is administered by the community foundation.

“This is the first year that Meserve scholarships will be awarded to students seeking careers in medically related fields as well as the environmental sciences,” said Karl H. Epple, chair of the Meserve Memorial Fund Distribution Committee. “This new focus will help alleviate the projected local shortage of nurses and other health care professionals.”

A nationally recognized arborist during his lifetime, local businessman Albert Wadsworth Meserve was known as an active volunteer in civic and charitable activities throughout the Danbury area. The Meserve Memorial Fund was established in 1983 to further the work of Mr Meserve and his wife, Helen, in the Danbury region.

The fund is administered by the Fairfield County Community Foundation, headquartered in Wilton. For information, call Jeanette Allam at 203-834-9393.