Bernard F. Gaffney Memorial Scholarship
Helping Graduates Who Demonstrate Character, Need, and Determination
“My father was always trying to help the little guy. In his memory, we are continuing his legacy by helping the people in need of help who are continuously working to grow personally and professionally.”
– Ed Gaffney, son of Bernard F. Gaffney
The Bernard F. Gaffney Scholarship Fund was established in 2000 to honor the memory of Mr. Gaffney who was the principal of Houghton High School from 1937 to 1961 and the Superintendent of Houghton-Portage Township Schools from 1961 to 1966. Mr. Ted Gaffney, along with a group of alumni from the Class of 1947, has been instrumental in establishing and promoting the scholarship fund. The purpose of the fund is to help students or graduates who demonstrate character, need, and determination to achieve their specific educational or training goals.
AWARDS
The 2023 Bernard F. Gaffney Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Quinn Fontaine! Quinn plans to attend the Advanced Welding Institute. Congratulations, Quinn!
Due to issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bernard F. Gaffney Memorial Scholarship was not awarded in 2020 or 2021, but in 2022 the fund awarded a whopping thirteen scholarships. Pictured below, from top left: Quinn Aho, Elise Erva, Micaela Geborkoff, Madison Golde, Seth Hyslop, Kricia Jenkins, Brina Kirkpatrick, Olivia Merriman, Elise Polkinghorne, Logan Sandell, Ingrid Seagren, Cassandra Steffensen, and Seo Jun Yoon.
Previous recipients:
The four recipients of the scholarship for 2019 (below) were Alex Pera, Anabel Needham, George Butvilas, and Arianna Pugh (left to right). KCF Board Chair John Sanregret presented the scholarships to the students (far right).
The three recipients of the scholarship for 2018 were Jada Markham, Rebecca Stone, and Will Stier.
The two recipients of the scholarship for 2017 were Abigail Mauno and Harkin Massopust.
The three recipients of the scholarship for 2016 (below) were Maia Barnhart (left), Taryn Kaurala (center), and Antoni Olszewski (right). Maia will be attending Gogebic Community College to study nursing. Taryn will be attending Gogebic Community College to study business. Antoni will be attending Northern Michigan University to study automotive service technology.
These scholarships are supported through the endowment at the Keweenaw Community Foundation. Our goal is to continue building this fund so that we can award more scholarships in the future. In 2015, two scholarships were awarded, but in 2016 we had such a strong pool of applicants that we awarded three. In order to not dilute the scholarship award mount, Mr. Ted Gaffney donated the additional funds for the third scholarship.
In a continued effort to help students in need, a challenge has been issued to the community to help grow the fund at the Keweenaw Community Foundation. Mr. Gaffney will match up to $5,000 in donations made to the endowment.
The two recipients of the scholarship for 2015 were Callie Aittama (left) and Kayla Jacobson (right). Both of these outstanding students showed initiative and character as well as motivation to continue their education. Callie is attending Eastern Michigan University to pursue her degree in nursing or social work. Kayla is attending Michigan State University to pursue her degree in nursing. Then KCF Executive Director Jim Vivian presented them with their awards.
DONATE
By supporting the Bernard F. Gaffney Memorial Scholarship fund you help maintain and grow a significant scholarship award available to higher education students in your community.
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