On Thursday, November 30th, 2023, A ceremony was held to honor, award, and celebrate 48 members of the class of 2024 with the esteemed John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Award.
What Is This Award and Why Does It Matter?
The John and Abigail Adams Scholarship is an award given by the Massachusetts state government to qualifying students across the state since 2005. According to the Massachusetts government, to qualify you need, an advanced performance score on 1 of either the ELA, Mathematics, or Science MCAS tests, A proficient or higher score on the 2 remaining tests, and A combined a score from the 3 tests that places with in the top 25 percent of graduating students from the district. Named after the Massachusetts natives, John Adams (Second President of the United States) and Abigail Adams (Second First Lady of the United States), this scholarship slashes the tuition cost for all 8 semesters of any state school. These schools include UMASS Amherst, Westfield State, Holyoke Community College, and many more.
The money granted from this scholarship is redeemable for up to 6 years after the award is acquired, and ultimately eliminates around 9 to 10 percent of the school’s total tuition per semester, depending on the institution. This is an extremely valuable opportunity for most families, as it is only becoming more inconvenient to cover the ever growing expenses of a college education.
What Was The Ceremony Like?
Since I was lucky enough to be presented with this award, here is my first hand account of how the ceremony went. At 8:00 am, all recipients were called to the cafeteria and lined up alphabetically for a headcount and to determine the order of seating. After walking in, Mrs. Nemeth greeted everyone, explained how the process of the ceremony would unfold, and attempted to ensure that everyone’s names would be pronounced correctly. When the first period bell rang, everyone walked single file into the auditorium for seating. Mrs. Nemeth had a small speech prepared detailing the history of the scholarship and the significance of it.
After the speech was completed, Mrs. Nemeth began to call names in alphabetical order. When your name was called, Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Taylor were there to hand out 2 documents. One sheet of paper had all of the eligibility requirements listed for the scholarship, as well as the full list of colleges where you can redeem the award. The other piece of paper handed was the official award itself, printed from the Executive Office of Education.
After these two documents were received, everyone had 30 minutes to take photos, talk with family, and eat from a breakfast buffet made by the lunch ladies. I only took some grapes and water, but some people were taking everything they could stuff in their pockets and hold within their cradled arms. After the 30 minutes had passed, the recipients arrived at their period two classes for the last 15 minutes. Overall, I would say it was a nice way to start the day and lose some class time.
A Message To Freshmen and Sophomores
To the freshmen and sophomores who have yet to take 2 or all 3 of their final MCAS exams, I say do not stress. Yes, you should take these MCAS tests seriously, as they are required in order to graduate, but there is also a need to stress over them. The MCAS, after all, is a test based on the knowledge you’ve learned, so if you are an A or B student you will be more than likely to qualify for the award senior year. These tests do not determine your worth or intelligence, so If you do not score high enough to receive the award in the future, fret not. There are plenty of scholarships you can apply for during your junior and senior years that award ten times the amount of money.
Just remember when taking the test to utilize the time given to you. Speaking from personal experience, I dedicated nearly the entire day to taking the test, being nearly the last or the last person to finish, but it was worth it. As I know for certain that it helped me achieve the necessary scores to obtain this prestigious award.
Source: mass.gov