The third Kevin J. McKenna Memorial Scholarship was awarded just a couple weeks ago. It was very rewarding to see the culmination of our hard work and support from our friends and family.
My family attended the 2017 Scholarship Night at Woburn Memorial High School on May 31st. It was a wonderful evening and just so happened to my thirty-somethingth birthday. I always feel like Kev is with me but on that night, it felt like he was standing up there with me.
We presented Kev's award on stage - I fool myself into thinking this gets easier the more times you do it, but no. Staring out into a sea of people is sometimes enough to freeze the vocals, and adding an emotional level catches me off guard...which I'm sure makes those of you that know me laugh. It was really nice to be able to talk about Kevin and share some personal stories with the audience. Before I knew it, it was time to announce the winner. We were honored to announce Mackenzie Dresner as the recipient of the scholarship.
We chose Mackenzie for her passionate commitment to athletics, and her serious drive to persevere. Kenzie's honesty and candidness was very touching.
Mackenzie played field hockey throughout her four years at Woburn High. In addition to athletics, Mackenzie participated in Peer Mediation, School and Society, PE Leadership, and Freshmen Mentors, the latter of which is a program of Upperclassmen who meet with Freshmen once a month to help with their adjustments in highschool. Kenzie also works three part-time jobs, where she's been saving money for her college education.
Mackenzie will be attending Salem State University in the fall, majoring in Education. She attributes many of her successes to one of her teachers at Woburn High and has been driven to give back and hopefully help a future student in the same way. We wish her the very best. Congratulations, Mackenzie!
xoxo,
Kell
L-R: Bob, Kelly, Mackenzie (KJM Scholarship Winner), Kathy, Dick