Westminster High School celebrated the school’s 123rd commencement ceremony Monday morning at McDaniel College’s Gill Center.
Of the graduating class of 376, four graduates had extra reason to celebrate as they will each receive at least $15,000 from the Oscar Brothers Memorial Scholarship Fund. The fund keeps alive the legacy of Oscar Brothers, who served more than 50 years as the first president of Gamber & Community Fire Company, the company’s public information officer Clay Myers, of Eldersburg, said. The scholarships are funded by the Brothers family.
This is the first year four scholarships have been awarded — one or two students have received scholarships in previous years. Myers said this marks the 16th year of scholarships awarded by the Brothers family.
“It’s good for the community to see that we’re supporting kids who live in a community,” Myers said, “so that’s really a big plus.”
Audrey Houle, Charlotte Houle, Carlie Rosewag and Valesk Zita were selected from Gamber area residents based on a combination of academics, extracurriculars and financial need, Myers said. Applicants from within the area served by the Gamber fire company submitted an essay, a letter of recommendation, high school grades, standardized test scores, records of community service and extracurricular activities, and two years of family income information.
Winners are selected by a committee composed of Brother family members, based on input from a committee comprising Gamber & Community Fire Company members. Myers said scholarship recipients must perform 40 hours of community service each year, maintain a 2.5 GPA and be enrolled in 12 credit hours of college courses to remain eligible.
“The fire company fully supports this,” Myers said. “Several kids that have won over the years have turned out to be members of the fire company, or help in some way. That turns out really well because one of the requirements is they have to do volunteer time, so a lot of them come back and do it at the firehouse or in Gamber.”
Honor roll students are eligible for up to $21,000 from the fund. Myers said the scholarship is among the most generous in Carroll County and a great way for the Brothers family to stay woven into the fabric of Gamber, even after having moved out of the area.
Zita will attend the University of Maryland, Rosewag will attend Stevenson University, Audrey Houle will attend High Point University, and Charlotte Houle remains undecided. Myers said the scholarship will be held for Houle if she takes a gap year.
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