The Salem Rotary Club has been making Salem a better place for local residents and has contributed to communities around the globe for over 100 years. The largest impact they make each year, however, is to local Salem high school-aged students. This spring, the Salem Rotary Club was pleased to present $50,000 in Scholarship and Career and Technical Education (CTE) Awards to senior students from Salem. 
 
On June 11, 2024, the Club held their annual Salem Rotary Scholarship luncheon where they awarded $40,000 in scholarships to 14 Salem seniors.
 
“This is the most special meeting we hold each year, and it is a joy for our members to meet students and their families whose lives are positively impacted by these awards,” said Jennifer Close, Salem Rotary Club President.
 
Successful applicants are high achieving students who are also involved in their local community. They are athletes, scholars, civically engaged volunteers, and hard workers. Through this program, the Salem Rotary Club is the largest non-profit contributor to student scholarships in Salem.
 
“Having such a vibrant Rotary Club in Salem is an asset to our city,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo. “I was honored to join the celebration and see the excitement first-hand. This continued legacy of sponsorship and support of our city’s students and future leaders is incredible and something that should be appreciated by all.”
 
This year’s scholarship recipients represent Salem High School, Salem Academy Charter School, Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School, St. Mary's High School, and St. John's Prep. Two awards were given in honor of well-known former Rotarians who were dedicated to supporting youth in our community. The Robert P. “Buck” Alexander Merit Scholarship went to Caitlyn McKiernan and Nick Griffin, and the Vance M. “Salty” Smith Scholarship went to Sophia Butusova.
 
Additional Salem Rotary Club Scholarships were presented to Riley Fenerty, Abigail Lowe, Chloe Magee, Keira Morgan, William Napierkowski, Tilda Rieder, Kyle Rush, Liam Sullivan, Annabelle Wemmer, Emi Whitfield, and Yassmin Yousif.
 
The Salem Rotary Club is also proud to have given $10,000 in awards to Salem High School's CTE program senior students in two ways. All CTE awards were determined by the faculty of Salem High School and were distributed at a ceremony at the school in late May.
 
The Salem Rotary Club CTE Directors Award is presented to an outstanding student from each program who exemplifies the ideals of vocational education. These students have demonstrated exceptional qualities of character, creativity, cooperation, and citizenship and will continue to carry on the best traditions of vocational education proudly. The following students received the Rotary Directors Award: Cameron St. Germain for Automotive Technologies; Alejandro Hernandez for Building and Property Maintenance; Jacob Pina Harding for Carpentry; Logan Abboud for Culinary Arts; Lisy Almonte Genao for Early Education and Care; Corey Grimes for Electrical Technologies; Abdiel Pimentel Cabral for Graphic Design; Maya Pallazola for Medical Assisting; and Syed Ramim for Programming and Web Development.
 
The Salem Rotary Club Vocational Achievement Award is presented to a student in each program who has strived to be the best in their technical field. These students exhibit vocational excellence as well as strong personal and professional development. They serve as role models within their programs through their self-confidence, high ethical standards and superior work skills. The following students received the Rotary Club Vocational Achievement Award: Aiden Burnett for Automotive Technologies; Josean Castillo for Building and Property Maintenance; Jacob Pina Harding for Carpentry; Elias Vasquez-Bastardo for Culinary Arts; Melany Garcia for Early Education and Care; Corey Grimes for Electrical Technologies; Joe Reyes Rodriguez for Graphic Design; Pamela Payano Ortiz for Medical Assisting; and Joshua Morton for Programming and Web Development.
 
“It was certainly an exciting afternoon,” shared Mario Sousa, CTE Director. “It is my hope that these students will continue to be involved in their communities and consider giving back in the future. I am certain that they would be welcome in any Rotary Club across the globe.”
 
 
 
The Salem Rotary Club provides scholarships annually for students pursuing further education after high school. Much of the fundraising the club performs during the year (such as our calendar raffle and auction gala) goes to supporting this endeavor. 
 
In 1993, Salem Rotarians, led by “Salty” Vance M. Smith III, established a fund to accept donations and provide scholarships for Salem students. The fund was started with an initial gift of $7,000. Since that time, the fund has received contributions from individual donors and gifts by the Salem Rotary Club secured through its fundraising efforts. 

In 2001, “Salty” and Robert P. “Buck” Alexander, two highly respected Rotarians and dear friends, had the misfortune of passing away the same weekend from heart attacks. From that day forward, both families of these wonderful Rotarians have made it their personal mission to support this fund and encourage others to make gifts to the Salem Rotary Club Scholarship Fund. Their incredible support, plus the support of many Salem Rotarians, donors, and club sponsors, allowed the fund to grow to over $1,200,000 as of 2024.  
 
The Salem Rotary Club provides approximately $40,000 in scholarships each year from this fund. Expenses to maintain the fund are covered through the pro bono services of Salem Rotarians including the record keeping and tax work completed by Chris Casey and his law firm Casey Lundregan and Burns, and fund management by Rob Lutts and his team at Cabot Wealth Management, Inc.  

 

 

 

Robert P. “Buck” Alexander, D.M.D. Merit Scholarship

The Robert P. “Buck” Alexander, D.M.D. Merit Scholarship recognizes and rewards students who contribute to, and make a difference in, their home, school and community at large, and who are likely to continue to do so in the future. This is a merit scholarship and, like the National Merit Scholarship, selection will be based on merit, character, accomplishment and involvement and does not largely take family income into account. This scholarship is meant to complement the Rotary Scholarships by recognizing those exceptional students who have demonstrated that they are not afraid to work hard and give their time to make life a little better for others. We are grateful to have the continuous support of Elizabeth Alexander Stevenson and her family who support this fund.

 

 

“Salty” Vance M. Smith Scholarship

The “Salty” Vance M. Smith Scholarship recognizes any and all students wishing to pursue advanced education at any level. Salty Smith had a love of student education and this lead him to the path of suggesting to the Rotary Club that we fund and grow a Rotary Scholarship Fund. He knew the incredible value of helping to educate the youth of Salem. His experience with his own family Foundation gave him a unique perspective to see the power of a well managed tax advantaged fund, and he personally made many donations to the fund. Today we are very grateful to have the support of Salty's sister, Elizabeth (Liz) F. Smith, and her family with this fund.

Application Process

Salem Rotary scholarships are available to Grade 12 high school and trade school students pursuing college or a vocational trade school. For the current cycle of scholarships, online applications will be accepted from February 1 through April 14, 2024. 
 
Applicants must be residents of Salem, Massachusetts and may not be the child, grandchild, niece, nephew, great niece or great nephew (this includes adoptive or step relationship) of any current member of Salem Rotary, or any person that has been a member of Salem Rotary within the past five years. 
 
Any student who is awarded a scholarship agrees to notify the Salem Rotary Club immediately if they do not enroll for any reason, or if they drop out during the first half of the year. Student agrees to return to the Salem Rotary Club the funds they have received if they do not enroll or leave school before the end of the year.
 
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT DUE TO THE LARGE NUMBER OF QUALIFIED APPLICANTS, NOT EVERY APPLICANT WILL RECEIVE A SCHOLARSHIP EVEN IF YOU ARE SELECTED FOR AN INTERVIEW.
 
Typically, several applicants receive a Salem Rotary Scholarship, while only two applicants receive the Robert P. “Buck” Alexander, D.M.D. Merit Scholarship. 
 
Scholarship applications are due by Sunday, April 14, 2024.  Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Any questions should be directed to your school's guidance department.
 
The Scholarship Committee assumes that applicants have reviewed their applications for accuracy and completeness prior to submitting. Discrepancies, contradictions, inaccuracies or omissions may lead to rejection of an application.
 
We thank you for your interest and recognize your hard work and effort during high school. We wish you luck in your future endeavors whether or not we are able to award you a scholarship!
When you are ready to apply for a Rotary Scholarship please click the button above to begin the online process. Our application has been made in Google Forms. The state of your progress is saved as you go, including any files you may have uploaded. If you do not have a Google account you will be asked to create one. Your application is tied to that Google account, so it is advised that you work in an account that is your own. Working in a browser on a personal computer is the best way to proceed, however it is possible to make progress on a phone or tablet.
 
Don't forget applications need to be completed before midnight on April 14th!!