Graduating Oswego High School Seniors Honored by Oswego Rotary Club

by Contributor | June 9, 2017 8:18 am

OSWEGO – The Oswego Rotary Club honored this year’s recipients of its scholarships and awards and their parents at a recent luncheon meeting.

The occasion marked the 90th anniversary of the club’s founding and celebrated the club’s collaboration with the Richard S. Shineman Foundation, Pathfinder Bank, and the Tarandi Foundation whose financial contributions enabled the awards to nearly triple those of previous years.

A new scholarship in memory of long-time Rotarian Richard S. Shineman was presented for the first time and the occupational education award was renamed in memory of Ruth Mulford.

Club President Danielle Hayden presented framed certificates to the scholarship recipients and a $1,000 check to the Mulford award recipient.

The scholarships will be paid to the students after the successful completion of their first and third semesters of college.

The Richard S. Shineman Oswego Rotary Scholarship honors the memory of Richard Shineman, long-time member of Oswego Rotary Club and advocate for the philanthropic work of Rotary around the world. Regionally, his foundation now serves to improve the quality of life in Oswego County and Central New York by working with not-for-profit organizations.

The Shineman Scholarship was given to Aaric Celeste, son of Larry and Catherine Celeste.

His high school activities have included varsity cross country, Environmental Club, marching band, National Honor Society and Oswego County Academic Youth League.

His community activities included Scouting, where he earned Eagle Scout status, membership in People Against Poverty and playing in Oswego minor hockey for 12 years.

He has been recognized by qualifying for the Top 50 and Top 100 dinners for six years and he received an Oswego Minor Hockey scholarship and a Rochester Institute of Technology presidential scholarship.

Celeste will enroll in the civil engineering program at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Charles E. Riley Oswego Rotary Scholarship remembers the founding president (1927–1930) of the Oswego Rotary Club and former superintendent of the Oswego City School District, and was presented to Jordan Runner, son of Melody Bradford and Richard Runner.

The school activities in which Runner participated included Chorale and Chamber Honors Choir, cast member of Oswego High School musicals, and Oswego County Academic Youth League.

Outside of school he was a member of the Vex Robotics team, Freezing Code, for four years and received private piano instruction for three years. He has been honored with certificates of merit in geometry and pre-AP world history, Top 100 Dinner for four years, and a Rensselaer Medal Scholarship.

Runner will enroll at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to study mechanical engineering.

Celia Fitgerald, daughter of Jill and Sean O’Gorman, received the Ralph & Dorothy Faust Oswego Rotary Scholarship.

Faust served as president of the Oswego Rotary Club (1934–1935) and was formerly principal of Oswego High School.

Fitzgerald played volleyball and lacrosse, served as class vice president, and was a member of Student Council, Chamber Singers, the Interact Club and the National Honor Society.

In the community, she was a vacation Bible school volunteer for five years, participated in competitive dance for 12 years and was employed by Broadwell Hospitality and Alex’s on the Water.

Fitzgerald will enroll at Clarkson University to study engineering and management.

The Manjula R. Shah Oswego Rotary Scholarship was pressented to Robin Huang, son of Chen and Liya Huang.

The scholarship is given in memory of Dr. Manjula R. Shah; physician, philanthropist and dedicated Rotarian and is provided with generous support from the Tarandi Foundation.

Huang participated in football, outdoor and indoor track and wrestling. He perfomed with the musical orchestra and band, was a member and treasurer of the National Honor Society and participated in Laps for Limbs. He also participated in Relay for Life for three years and received the Leadership Junior Scholarship.

Huang will study aeronautical engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

The Anthony J. Murabito Oswego Rotary Scholarship, is given in memory of the former principal of Oswego High School, an active member of the Oswego Rotary Club for more than 51 years, club president (1967 – 1968), and a leader and advocate for the Rotary scholarship program.

The award is given to Rachel Leotta, daughter of Sheila and Joseph Leotta. She was active in school musicals and the Drama Club for four years and was a member of the National Honor Society.

Beyond school, she served on the Oswego County Opportunities Crisis and Development Board and the Oswego County Youth Bureau and participated in community theatre and the Salvation Army soup kitchen.

She will study theatre performance at Hofstra University.

The Ruth Mulford Occupational Education Award honors the memory of Ruth Mulford, who joined the club in 1991, the first woman to join the club and the member who first proposed the creation of the award.

The award was first given in 1993. Mulford was on the professional staff of the Center for Instruction, Technology, and Innovation, then Oswego County Board of Cooperative Educational Services. The award is given to affirm Rotary’s appreciation of the dignity of all useful work and respect for all productive occupations.

This year’s Mulford Award was presented to Benjamin Muckey, son of James and Terri Muckey.

He excelled in the occupational program in public safety at the Mexico Center for Instruction, Technology and Innovation. He received the CTE Top 3 Award, Scholar Athlete Award, and earned FEMA ICS-100 Certification. He served as quartermaster in his class with responsibilities for organizing, maintaining and retrieving gear and equipment.

He played soccer for four years, was captain for one year, vice president of Skills USA, and has been a group leader and camp counselor for several years.

Muckey plans to attend Finger Lakes Community College to study environmental conservation law enforcement and later to earn a baccalaureate degree in the same field at Paul Smith’s College.

The Oswego Rotary Club, founded 90 years ago, raises money for scholarships through members’ dues and contributions, occasional memorial gifts and fundraising projects.

The club, with financial support from Pathfinder Bank, hosts the annual Top 100 Dinner to honor the accomplishments of the 25 top academic students in each of the four classes at Oswego High School.

The club has established an endowment fund to help underwrite the scholarship program in the future.

Gifts and bequests will be held in perpetuity, with only the earnings used for awards.

Members of the Scholarship Committee this year are George DeMass, Carrie Penoyer, Randy Zeigler and Vernon Tryon.

Anyone having questions about membership in the Oswego Rotary Club or its scholarship program is invited to call Vernon Tryon, Membership Committee chairman, at 315-343-9692.

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