Elizabeth Hyde and Gianna Rose Strand, Chatham High School Class of 2012, are recipients of this year’s Chatham Kiwanis Scholarships. The awards will be announced at the June 21 Chatham High School (CHS) graduation ceremony. The recipients were honored at the May 29 Kiwanis meeting held at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham Township.

With these awards, the club continues a tradition of educational awards that it began in 1978.  Each year, the club selects two award winners based on academic standing, leadership, good citizenship and participation in school and community activities.  The club awards each scholar $8,000 spread equally ($2,000 per year) over four years of undergraduate education.
 
This year, the club distributes $16,000 to all eight of its current scholars. Active recipients are Elizabeth Hyde and Gianna Rose Strand, who will begin their college careers this fall; rising sophomores and 2011 winners Christina Kim at Cornell University and Anne Monson at Wake Forest University; rising juniors and 2010 winners Meghan Murray at Yale and Sarah Simonson at NYU; and rising seniors and 2009 winners Erin Boehmer at University of Virginia and Kara Ryan at Notre Dame University.

This year’s scholarship winners were selected from a large number of applications.

Elizabeth Hyde was CHS Senior Class President and served on the Student-Faculty Advisory Committee. She was Captain of the varsity soccer team. She also played on the 2012 Morris County Champion CHS Lacrosse team and was voted ESPN Number 1 NJ Defensive Midfielder. She organized a fundraising soccer tournament for children’s cancer and served as a volunteer counselor for the Special Olympics Young Child. She chaired a project to send school supplies to Accra, Ghana. She helped coach players at a STEPS Lacrosse recruiting camp. Her major interests are Biology and Public Policy. She plans to attend Dartmouth College.

Gianna Rose Strand was President of the CHS Key Club. She was President of the Environmental and French Club. She led the Environmental Club in cleaning up trails in Shephard Kollock Park. In Key Club, she organized and worked in many projects including Help Haiti, Haunted Hallways and the Red Cross Blood Drive. She played on the Volleyball Team and the Track & Field Team. She was active in CHS musicals and was the Lead Dance Captain for “The Drowsy Chaperone.” She received the President’s Volunteer Service Award and the NJ District Key Club Dr. George McCrossan Memorial Scholarship. Her major interests are French and Business Communications. She plans to attend Smith College.