A Healthy Lynnfield is now accepting applications for its 2025 Healthy Living Scholarships which will award two Lynnfield High School seniors who embody the organization’s values best with $2,000 each.
The scholarship is open to any senior with a 3.0 GPA or higher and an established record of community service, with preference going towards those who have worked with A Healthy Lynnfield or another health-related organization.
Additionally, the group will show preference towards applicants who are active members of student activities that embody principles of good health.
“In addition to grades and extracurriculars and just their overall experience as a high schooler, we do really try to focus on what work they’ve done in the community or personally to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” A Healthy Lynnfield Program Coordinator Diana DeLeo said. “We really ask for them to show that in their application and to talk about the things that they’ve done in the community and personally within themselves to make smart decisions as a teenager.”
In the previous three years the nonprofit has offered the scholarship, the award was $500, but a successful fundraising year has allowed them to raise that number to $2,000.
Also different this year is the award will be split into two increments, with winners getting $1,000 in the summer right after graduation, and the second installment of $1,000 a year later, where they will talk about their experience since they first received the award.
“I would hope by the time that Lynnfield teenager is a senior in high school they know who we are and they know what we’re about,” DeLeo said. “I think that any student that is graduating and the recipient of the Healthy Lynnfield Scholarship hopefully would have that in the back of their mind as they’re going off to school, and continue to make smart decisions.”
The scholarship board for A Healthy Lynnfield goes through application in a blind review process so there’s no indication of who the student is.
Previous years have produced many applications, so DeLeo expects this year to be even more popular with a quadrupled award amount.
“I read through the applications and I didn’t know, I couldn’t understand how they managed to do all that they did in four years,” she said. “These are kids that, some of them are two, three-sport athletes and the top 10% of their class. They’re taking honors classes, AP classes, and then in addition to that, they’re doing really strong community work, whether they’re involved with A Healthy Lynnfield or they’re involved with Interactive Rotary or Connors Kindness.”
Students interested in applying can go to ahealthylynnfield.org/scholarship, where scholarship applications are open from now until Thursday, May 1.
“We had someone, they independently did a drive for a collection for Ukraine last year. And then they work jobs in addition. They really are impressive students,” DeLeo said. “Last year our team that selected them had a really, really hard time and I feel like it’s going to be the same situation again this year.
