On Wednesday night, June 6, 2001, Elizabeth Dushane was announced as the first recipient of the Riverside Industries Scholarship. She will receive a $500 check after completing her first semester at Western New England College in the fall.

After discussion with Easthampton High School, Riverside Industries established the scholarship this year to go to a student who plans to further his or her education in a Human Service field.

Char Gentes, Public Relations Director for Riverside Industries, said it was seeking ways to inspire people to consider a Human Services career in today's largely based technology market.

"We wanted to encourage students to think about this career, support those who already had and were on their way, and give back to the community," Gentes said.

Ron Bittel, president of Riverside Industries, said that he chose Dushane because of her sense of mission, and that she thought of the Human Services field as vocation rather than a job.

Gentes said in creating the scholarship, Riverside officials also recognized how much college costs to attend and wanted to lessen the burden for the student they chose.

Larry Trinceri, an EHS guidance counselor, said that there is a lot of support by those who want to help students further their education, and for those who want to create a memorial.

"Most donors want to meet the applicants and interview them, and in this case, that's what they did," he said. "But in other cases, the students write essays, or it's based on strictly financial need. Everyone has a chance at something."

Gentes said that they did not want to place a lot of criteria on the applicants, so they limited it to a senior student who was in the top half of their class and planned on continuing their education in the Human Service field at a two or four year institution.

Riverside Industries'
Job Placement Program