Middletown Students Earn McDonald House Scholarships

Three Middletown students have been selected as recipients of $2,000 scholarships from the Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.

They are: Catherine Kannam, a Durham resident and 2013 graduate of Mercy High School in Middletown who will attend Dartmouth College this fall; fellow Mercy High School graduate Courtney Perales, a Middletown resident who will attend Princeton University; and Karla Lazo, a 2013 graduate of Middletown High School who will attend the University of Connecticut this fall. 

Kannam, Perales and Lopez were among only 25 area students selected from over 200 applicants to receive a scholarship. RMHC of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts awarded a grand total of $50,000 to local students this year.

Scholarship applicants were scrutinized by a panel of judges in several categories including academic achievement, community involvement and financial need. 

RMHC of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts awarded funds to graduating high school seniors who will be attending college in the fall through two scholarship programs: first through the RMHC Scholars Program which provides monies to graduating high school seniors regardless of race or ethnicity; and secondly through the RMHC Hispanic American Commitment to Education Resources Program Scholarship, which is awarded to students with at least one parent of Hispanic origin. 

The scholarship program is supported by the Connecticut and Western Massachusetts McDonald’s® Owner/Operator Association. 

“We are proud to provide scholarship dollars to local students to help them achieve their education and career goals,” said Ed Abraham, President of RMHC of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. 

“All of the recipients are extremely deserving. They have demonstrated passion and perseverance to overcome challenges and triumph in many areas of their lives. We wish them continued success in college and beyond.”

The full list of the 2013 scholarship recipients is as follows:

RMHC/HACER Program Scholarship Winners

·         Karla Lazo of Middletown; graduate of Middletown High School, attending the University of Connecticut in Storrs.

·         Courtney Perales of Middletown; graduate of Mercy High School, attending Princeton University in Princeton, N.J.

·         Catherine Kannam of Durham; graduate of Mercy High School, attending Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. Last year, she received the Girl Scout Gold Award for her commitment to scouting and a project that will help local elementary school children for years to come. She was the salutatorian of the Mercy High School Class of 2013. 

Kannam received the Brown University and Princeton University Book Awards, the President's Volunteer Service Award, and the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship and many other accolades.