Two students awarded garden club scholarships

Each year as part of a commitment to community service, the Springfield Garden Club awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors or college students pursuing further education in the field of horticulture, forestry, or environmental studies.

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Two students awarded Springfield Garden Club Scholarships Andrew Czwakiel, left, and Brandon McCutcheon, right, are the 2017 fall Springfield Garden Club Scholarship winners. With them is Scholarship Chair Jocelyn Zezza. — COURTESY PHOTOAndrew Czwakiel, left, and Brandon McCutcheon, right, are the 2017 fall Springfield Garden Club Scholarship winners. With them is Scholarship Chair Jocelyn Zezza. — COURTESY PHOTOSPRINGFIELD — Each year as part of a commitment to community service, the Springfield Garden Club (SGC) awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors or college students pursuing further education in the field of horticulture, forestry, or environmental studies. Two Springfield students have been each awarded $1,000 for the 2017 fall semester. Pending a review of their transcripts, they will each receive another $1,000 the following semester, for a total scholarship donation of $4,000. Andrew Czwakiel, a recent graduate of Springfield High School (SHS), will attend the University of Maine in Orono this month to study environmental science. Andrew was a member of the National Honor Society (NHS) for the past two years and also played on the varsity soccer team. He has been an active member of the Boy Scouts Troop 52, and has earned the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. He has worked at Shaw’s for the past two years, and has been active as a farm worker and doing yard work throughout his high school career to earn money for college. Brandon McCutcheon is a graduate of River Valley Technical Center (RVTC) and will attend Vermont Technical College, majoring in landscaping and sustainable horticulture. He plans to also take a small business management course, so he will have the skills to either start and own, or manage, a landscaping operation. During Brandon's high school years, he worked stocking trout in the Black River and mentoring in the summer Tech Camp at RVTC, in addition to working at Okemo and Shaw’s. In his junior year, he earned the Aaron Douglas award in the Horticulture program at RVTC. The Garden Club wishes both young men the best as they move forward with their continuing education.