Past Scholarship Recipients
2011 - Brooke Rudden
Brooke is the recipient of the 2011 award under the James R. Smith Scholarship Program. Her award is renewable and is the seventh since the program’s inception in 2005.
The program, one of the benefits of SSA membership, is administered by an independent organization on the SSA’s behalf. The annual award was recently increased from $1,000 to $1,500 and participation, previously restricted to dependent children of members, was opened to grandchildren as well.
Brooke, a member of the National Honor Society and an ardent lacrosse enthusiast, is thinking of a career in accounting, or a related field that would draw on her ability in math. She’s a high-school senior in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, where she lives with her parents and four siblings. She plans to attend Stonehill College in North Easton, MA.
Brooke, who sees lacrosse as a “challenging kind of mind game,” plays in a number of leading teams, including the Massachusetts Elite Lacrosse Club Team and the Eastern-Lower New England National Lacrosse Team. She was captain this year of her varsity team, and also helps coach younger players. Her own interest in the game was sparked, she says, by an older sister.
Brooke is on the Honor Roll and is a member of the Unite Club, where juniors and seniors help freshman transition into high school. Between one thing and another she keeps to a busy schedule. She has also held part-time jobs as a nanny and as a hostess in an Italian restaurant.
Asked about people she admired, Brooke singled out two of her contemporaries. One, she said, was a boy who eventually succumbed to cancer, but whose “positive attitude and courage was an inspiration to us all.” Another was a friend, she said, who showed “great courage” in coming to grips with the death of his father.
I simply don’t know how he did it,” Brooke said.
2010 - Patrick Feeney
Patrick graduated from St. Charles Preparatory School in Columbus, Ohio, with honors in 2010. With a long-time interest in science, has set his sights on a career in molecular biology. An early motivation for pursuing such a career, he says, was when his father had a medical emergency, and he felt the desire to apply his talents in a way that would relate to the treatment of such problems. Patrick was one of 20 selected to participate in a program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, which featured classes taught by visiting scientists.
Patrick is a member of the National Honor Society and a National Merit Commended Scholar. He’s the recipient of Advanced Placement awards for excellence in calculus, English and Latin. He has also received a Scholar Athlete award for volleyball. He enjoys movies, watching sports and reading. He’s an avid water-skier and spends much time at the family’s summer home on a lake, with an older brother and two older sisters.
Patrick is currently attending Ohio State University majoring in Molecular Genetics.
2009 - Matthew Witman
Matt is currently attending Penn State majoring in Chemical Engineering. He is involved with research that specializes in studying polymer semiconductors which is focused on developing novel ways to integrate and optimize them in solar cells, one of the fastest growing alternative energy technologies today. He has discovered an interest in entrepreneurship and intends to pursue this interest throughout the rest of his time at Penn State. Matt studied abroad at the University of Bath near Bristol, England, in spring of 2011. In addition to his Chemical Engineering classes, he is participating in intramural soccer and enjoying visits to the European continent with new friends.
2008 - Alicia Trezza
Alicia graduated from Indiana University in May of 2011. She double majored in Marketing and Operations Management. While attending Indiana University she was a member of Women in Business, Alpha Gamma Delta, and Public Relations Student Society of America on campus.
2007 - Heather Marsh
Heather graduated from Penn State in May of 2011 with a major in bio-behavioral health and a minor in biology. While attending Penn State, she worked as an EMT on campus and was a member of the Martial Arts Club, which practiced Tang Soo Do. She plans on attending graduate school to obtain a master's in public health, focusing on maternal and child health.
2006 - Allison Kirksey
Allison graduated from the University of Georgia in May of 2010. She immediately started post-graduate classes at Armstrong State in Savannah to pursue her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Her passion is working with the athletic population and the therapy involved in returning them to the sports they love.
2005 - Samantha O’Leary
Samantha wrote: "I am writing to give you an update about my recent accomplishments since I finished my Bachelor's degree in 2009. Last month (May 2011), I graduated with a 3.9 GPA from American University's School of Public Affairs (SPA) with a Master's degree in Public Policy (MPP). While I was working towards my MPP, I interned at the AARP Public Policy Institute, where I worked on issues pertaining to Medicaid Part D; I also held a year-long appointment at the Social Security Administration's Office of Retirement Policy where I used projection modeling to analyze proposed reforms to the Social Security program. I also served as the master's level statistics tutor for SPA. In addition to these achievements, I received two notable honors: I was selected as a member of the Pi Alpha Alpha National Honors Society for Public Affairs and Administration, and was chosen as a semi-finalist for 2011 class of the Presidential Management Fellows program. Upon my graduation I took a position as a Research Consultant with The Lewin Group, a healthcare policy and management consulting firm, where I will be working on issues surrounding the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Programs.
I am so grateful for all of the support the Shareholder Services Association has given me over the years! Thank you so, so very much."