Scholarship Recipients 2008--
Walter's Gang:
Even though Walter's Run 2007
was
cancelled, the
Parkway Running
Club was able to award the Walter Burgess Scholarship to
four lucky recipients who were sent to the
Newport Running Camp
for a week. Thanks
to Pete
Squires, the camp organizer/coach, who partners with PRC to make the Newport Running Camp a reality for so many of the
applicants.
Top row -- Kelsey, Nathan. Bottom row
-- Laurie, Alessia
Kelsey P.
– Kelsey is a Junior at Guilford High School, Guilford, CT. Her interest
in running came to her as a surprise. She attended a track and field camp
over the summer of 2005. and then realized that running and the field
events were a lot of fun and she wasn’t that bad at it. Kelsey joined the
cross country team in her freshman year. Once the spring came she had to
choose between softball or track and field. She choose track and field and
has been running cross country and track and field for her school ever
since. She plans to continue in her senior year as well. Her cross country
team made it to the New Englands where she was the alternate. They were
also the Class MM champions in her freshman, sophomore and junior years
for cross country. As a team, they work at the middle school cross country
meets. She has coached recreation basketball for the past several years
and is a basketball referee for the Guilford Recreation league. She works
at the summer camps for basketball and track and field. She is currently
working at a sports carnival that is being put together by the high
school, representing both basketball and the cross country team. She has
been involved in Relay for Life for the past three years and is in the
SADD Club. Kelsey is definitely deserving of a Walter Burgess Scholarship
and will do Walter proud this summer at camp.
Nathan Y.
– Nathan attends Oakmont Regional High School in Westminster, MA. Last
year, Nathan went to the Newport Running Camp and found that his running
has improved greatly from the experience. He has been running for 6 years,
but this year was chosen most valuable runner by his cross country coach.
Additionally, his coach cites him as being a role model to his teammates
by his willingness to help others improve and the example he sets by going
above and beyond the required drills and distances. From his experience at
the camp, he learned how to train successfully, some new workouts and
activities that strengthened his running. Beyond his running interest,
Nathan continues to focus on his academics and was ranked 6th in his class
of 194. He also volunteers at a local non-profit apple orchard owned by
the city of Leominster. He hopes that the Newport Running Camp will help
him achieve his goal of making states next year. His younger brother,
Calvin, is also interested in running and wants to attend camp this
summer. Their parents cannot send both boys on their own, but we have
heard that by giving Nathan a Scholarship, Calvin will be able to attend
as well. Walter would be so happy that these brothers can pursue their
love for running together at camp this summer.
Alessia G.
– Alessia will be a freshman at Nipmuc High School in Mendon, MA in the
fall. She joined Nipmuc Girls Track and Field team this year and has found
running to be fun and rewarding. Alessia hopes to continue running
throughout her high school career. Both she and her coaches think that the
Newport Running Camp would be a great experience for her and would enhance
her natural athletic ability. Although only in 8th grade now, she is one
of Nipmuc’s top sprinters. Since already, at this age, Alessia is learning
strategies and drills to perfect technique, her coaches expect that
Alessia will be reaching levels as a freshman that most don’t get to until
much later in their track careers. Alessia also is a focused, dedicated
and driven student, an accomplished horsewoman, and does volunteer work.
Additionally, Alessia is my great niece. Together with her mother and I,
Alessia ran her first race ever in June - the Sharon Timlin 5K Race for
ALS. It was very rewarding to complete race together as ALS has affected
our family personally. Alessia was terrific, ran the whole distance for
the first time, and sprinted ahead of me for the second half. She has
never had the opportunity to attend a summer camp before, so it is pretty
special that we can offer Walter’s Scholarship to this young deserving
athlete. I know Walter would be only too happy to help her on her way to
becoming even more of a star runner!
Laurie S.
– Laurie is a senior at Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA. For
her, running is not just something she does to stay in shape. Laurie runs
because she loves running and she finds it fun. She has attended the
Newport Running Camp once in the past and has only praise for all it has
to offer. Camp helped her to start off the cross country season in great
shape so that she could reach a higher level of performance by the end of
the season. As a junior, she was her team’s Most Improved Runner. She has
trained and completed several half marathons and hopes to continue to run
road races after she graduates, maybe even a marathon. Laurie is a member
of the Student Dietetic Association and does community outreach through
this program. She is also a fantastic student. This spring, Laurie was
awarded the Nellie Manges Scholar-Athlete award, presented to the
student-athlete with the highest GPA. Laurie’s studies are in the field of
nutrition and after graduating from college, she will do a year of
nutrition internship. It is because of this extra year, which she has to
fund herself, that Laurie is asking for our support to enable her to
attend the Newport Running Camp. Her coaches Dan and Val Donohue were
friends with Walter. They know that Walter would again agree that we have
chosen a worthy and dedicated athlete for one of this year’s Walter
Burgess Scholarships.
Laurie, Alessia, Kelsey and Nathan with
former Olympians Matt Centrowitz (top) and Bill Dellinger.
Bill is the University of Oregon coach who coached Prefontaine, Alberto
Salazar, Mary Decker Slaney and many others. He had a stroke right before
camp 2000 but has done well with his recovery. Bill won the Olympic bronze
medal in the 1964 5K and is a great man and coach. Matt Centrowitz
is a former Olympian that Bill had coached.
Thank
you Walter!
Please email
scholarship@waltersrun.org
for additional information on the Walter Burgess Scholarship Fund.
