The following announcement was provided by the Charles River Regional Chamber:
Four outstanding local students have been selected to receive scholarships from the Charles River Regional Chamber.
In prior years the chamber has awarded scholarships to graduating seniors who reside or attend school in Newton and Needham. Newly added in 2021 was a third scholarship to a high school senior in Wellesley and in 2022 a fourth scholarship for a Watertown senior. NBC Universal, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham and Newton-Wellesley Hospital all provide underwriting support for this program.
In a highly qualified and deserving pool of close to 50 applicants, the chamber’s Scholarship Committee has selected Chaerin Lee, Grace Campbell Maillet, Theresa Cabral and David Fils-Aime for this year’s awards.
A graduate of Needham High School, Chaerin Lee has lived in multiple countries and loves learning new languages. She currently speaks Korean, Mandarin and Spanish. A driven, engaging and positive spirit Lee is dedicated to giving back to the community. She volunteers for the Harvard Homeless Mission and co-founded the Harvard Homeless Mission Club at Needham
High School. Through this role Lee prepares and delivers meal/care packages and personalized hand-illustrated cards for thousands of homeless residents in Boston. Chaerin will be attending the University of Connecticut this fall where she plans to study Pharmacology.
Grace Campbell Mailet, a 2022 Newton North High School graduate, is curious, organized, and has a “smile that brings joy to everyone’s day” even through a mask! A caretaker for friends, family and neighbors she is always stepping up to support others including baking cakes, pastries and other delicious baked goods to donate to healthcare providers during the pandemic. Mailet excels in science and culinary arts, a dual passion that fuels her dream of one day opening up her own bakery. She will be attending University of Massachusetts-Amherst in the fall.
A graduate of Watertown High School, Theresa Cabral’s dedication to her community is filled with grace, selflessness and an uplifting spirit. She works and volunteers at the Watertown Boys & Girls Club where she supports a multitude of initiatives including clothing drives, the Keystone club, mental health awareness campaigns and community outreach for children and teens. (She was also the youngest member of the Boys & Girls Club swim team in history!) Theresa goes out of her way to make others feel welcome and is passionate about making the world a better place, while balancing work, school, family and volunteering both at the Boys & Girls Club and for her
church teaching CCD. Cabral will be attending Merrimack College this fall where she plans to pursue a career teaching.
David Fils-Aime is a 2022 graduate of Wellesley High School who embodies kindness, empathy and calm leadership. As a member of Young Ethnic Scholars, doingsomething.org and the Red Cross club he has worked to advance inclusion, diversity and social justice within the Wellesley community and more broadly. A first generation citizen born to Haitian immigrants, David
Fils-Aime speaks English, French and Haitian Creole and has put his language skills to work to help others as a member of the translation club at Wellesley High School. He has translated numerous materials for Wellesley Public Schools including the COVID-19 dashboard helping to make important information accessible during the pandemic. Fils-Aime will be attending Boston University this fall.
While academic performance and extracurricular activities are important, our committee weighed their decision-making heavily on compelling stories that showed the scholarship would make a meaningful impact in each recipient’s life. The committee also got a glimpse of how these students had to navigate senior year through a pandemic. Between COVID-19, significant events and family dynamics, this year’s scholarship recipients have demonstrated their perseverance through various challenges, stayed motivated and achieved.
The chamber congratulates Lee, Campbell-Maillet, Cabral and Fils-Aime on their achievements and wishes them success in college and all their future endeavors.
This year’s scholarship committee was chaired by Arif Bhimani (Middlesex Savings Bank). Members included Michael Albano (Mount Auburn Cemetery) Alexis Avila (Prepped and Polished), Gillian Kohli (Wellesley Books), Mark Loveless (The Village Bank), Josephine McNeil (CAN-DO), Kevin Ruddy (PTC) and Eric Turner (Lasell University).