Warwick. Albert Wisner Library Foundation awards college scholarships to three WVHS graduating seniors

The Albert Wisner Public Library Foundation is delighted to announce and congratulate the recipients of its 14th annual college scholarship essay competition.

All three are graduating seniors at Warwick Valley High School: Jonah Bowen, Conor Borthwick and Madeleine Butchko. They wrote on the assigned topic: ndicate a character in a fictional book or an actual historical figure who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.

Madeleine, bound for Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, is undecided on a major, though is considering psychology.

Conor plans to study audio engineering at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J.

Jonah is headed to Emerson College in Boston to major in Comedic Arts. (Evidently Emerson is the only college to offer such a major.)

Each student will receive $1,000 toward college tuition.

Coincidentally, Conor and Madeleine are the younger siblings of two prior AWPL Foundation college scholarship recipients.

Warwick residents and library supporters Glenn P. and Susan D. Dickes have offered two scholarships since the inception of the competition in 2007.

C. Hope Arber added a third scholarship in 2012.

The sponsors offered a statement in praise of the students: “All of us are proud of this year’s winners. Each essay was a study in careful expository writing. They were grammatically accurate, with clear focus on the topic. Each student is so young, yet each demonstrated empathy and understanding of character — their own, as well as the hero identified with. These are perhaps the best group of winners in 14 years of offering the scholarships.”

Essentials

The competition is open to all college-bound high school seniors who reside in the Warwick Valley School District, regardless of which school they attend and including home-schooled students.

Next year’s essay topic will be announced in January 2021.