Newtown Senior Selected As Weller Finalist

Kyle Alexander Palo, a senior at Newtown High School, was selected as a finalist from a group of 24 applicants to compete for a $12,000 scholarship in honor of the late Barton L. Weller, founder of  Vitramon, Incorporated in Monroe, and whose generosity has made this award possible.

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 all full-time senior year students at Joel Barlow, Masuk, Newtown, Shelton, and Trumbull High Schools.

To apply for the scholarship students must write a detailed proposal of what they will research and how their project will benefit the outside community. The proposals were read by a panel of judges, who have no knowledge of the student’s name or the school they represent. Finalists were selected on the basis of originality, format of the proposal, project potential, and care with which the proposal and it’s planned implementation has been thought through.

 Based on the written proposals the judges select a group of finalists to move on to compete for the $12,000 scholarship. From that point the students do extensive research and create a detailed project to be presented to the judges for review.

Each finalist received $200 to help defray expenses during the five-month project period. Prior to the Awards Dinner on May 10, at Fairfield University, the scholarship recipients will be announced. At the dinner the $12,000 scholarship will be presented to the student whose project is judged to be the best. In addition to the $200 previously received upon selection as a finalist, all runners-up will, at the discretion of the judges, be eligible to receive a one-time scholarship ranging from $800 to $1,600 for completion and timely submission of their projects.

These scholarships will be paid directly to the college or university for deposit into the student’s account. Scholarships will be awarded without regard to the student’s existing financial status.

Kyle’s project is entitled, “The Effects of Various Chemicals and Nutrients Have on Rye Grass Growth and Soil Type.” The objective of Kyle’s project is to measure the effects of various nutrients on the growth of rye grass in a homogenous soil mixture. He will test which chemicals being sold on the market are the most effective during grass growth.