2018 Scholarship recipient

"My name is Drew Johnson and I am currently a Junior at Colgate University in New York. I’m an environmental biology major with a minor in chemistry.

I’m certain I won’t forget throughout my life the time working with The Merrimack Rotary Club. The Rotary is comprised of upstanding members of the community that continually work to better it. 

Throughout much of my time at Merrimack High School, I was president of the Interact club, the high school branch of the Rotary. Working alongside members of the Rotary Club was always a privilege and I always walked away feeling I had helped make a difference in my community. This is why it was such an honor to receive the academic scholarship from the rotary that was dedicated to an Interact member who achieved an academic standard. It is a testament that hard work and community service pays off, and in this instance that payoff was easing some of the looming burden of college debt that hangs over students and their parents. 

In addition to financial assistance the scholarship provides, it gives encouragement to continue moving forward on a path of academic as well as community fulfillment. I doubt I’ll ever forget the day I accepted the scholarship, and I’m certain other recipients will share that feeling as well."