In Their Words | Manchester Essex Education Fund

Abbey Martin, MERHS class of 2015
 The Sally Weld Memorial Scholarship is awarded to Manchester Essex students that displayed rigor in academics, leadership, and service in their four years. As a recipient of this scholarship, I have been fortunate enough to receive financial support to study biology at the College of Wooster. In my time here, I have continued to carry these core values of the scholarship’s foundation: strong academics, leadership, and service. I owe a great deal of the opportunities I have been presented with in the last year to the excellent education I received at Manchester Essex and the financial support of organizations such as the Manchester Essex Education Fund, which awards the Sally Weld Memorial Scholarship.
Kirk Nalley, MHS
class of 1989
I was awarded a MERHS Scholarship in 1989. The financial assistance provided a necessary uplift and enabled me to attend the college of my choice. I grew as an undergraduate student, blossomed as a person, redefined myself in graduate school and forged relationships along the way that I cherish still to this day. My career is established and my daily work ensures my clients are safer, are able to act quickly at the time of a disaster and gets them back to normal operations as quickly as possible. My employer is the industry leader and a “Fortune 500” company, but I believe my customers appreciate that I have small town roots as much as any of it.THANK YOU very much MERHS scholarship committee. I hope you continue to enrich and enable the future of this great country.
Gael Donelan Tarleton, MHS Class of 1977
As a grateful recipient of scholarships from the original Manchester Education Fund, and as one of those hundreds of kids lucky enough to learn debating from Tim Averill, I am so proud that the MEEF continues to create access to opportunities for kids from Manchester and Essex!
Meehan Irose,
MERHS Student
I have received grants form the Averill Debate Fund twice and with it was provided with the opportunity to attend a summer institution in an effort to develop my debating ability. Being one of the most influential experiences of my life, I am incredibly grateful for the MEEF and Mr. Averill. Debate has truly defined me as a person and allowed me to think on levels that I never would have been exposed to without it. I believe that debate is an exceptionally important program at MERHS and much of that is owed to the work of the MEEF and Mr. Averill. I hope that future students continue to benefit from the MEEF and find the same passion towards debate that I have.