Schools

Chambers Honor Local Scholars At Annual Breakfast

Brittany Murray from Grasso Tech and Lauren Weaver from Fitch among those recognized

It is a cliché this time of year that graduating high school seniors will go out and conquer and/or change the world.

But based on the group of seniors gathered Wednesday morning for the local chambers of commerce annual Education Breakfast, these students might actually get it done.

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut and the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce sponsor the breakfast, which honors southeastern Connecticut scholars. It has been going on for more than a decade, and each senior honored receives a $500 savings bond from People’s United Bank and assorted gifts from the other sponsors, Groton Utilities, Perkins & Murphy and Your Ticket to College. It was held at .

Find out what's happening in Grotonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Nine seniors were recognized and each gave a speech explaining “the importance of community interaction with educational institutions.” While the topic sounds lofty, each student spoke of their immense involvement in their communities, whether it is Relay for Life or volunteering at a nursing home or tutoring at-risk students.

“The caliber of these kids is unbelievable,” said Tricia Cunningham, president of the Greater Mystic Chamber. “Our schools are doing wonderful work with the kids. The schools and the parents deserve tremendous credit. We do a lot of events, and this is always one of my favorites.”

Find out what's happening in Grotonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Tony Sheridan, president of the eastern Connecticut chamber, said he finds the event “uplifting” every year. “This is a smart group of young people who will be successful in life. They are clearly talented people.”

Sheridan said the students’ community involvement speaks to one of the chamber’s basic principles, which is to give back.

, a senior at School, is valedictorian of her class and will study nuclear engineering in college on a Dominion Nuclear Scholarship. She lives is Norwich.

Lauren Weaver, a senior at , has been accepted into the University of Connecticut's Honor Program for the fall. She hope to attend medical school and become a pediatrician.

Junior Community Leaders honored are Kylie Henderson of Grasso and Randall Fitzmorris of Fitch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here