‘Friends of York Hospital’ names 5 scholarship recipients for 2020
YORK, Maine — A year like no other required a few changes to the process of selecting students for the Friends of York Hospital Scholarship Program, which annually awards scholarships to graduating seniors.
The application process proceeded as usual last spring, but the in-person student interview process was omitted, due to COVID-19 concerns.
To be eligible, scholarship applicants must be high school seniors who plan to enter the medical or health care field and who will graduate from a high school within York Hospital’s service area, in southern York County.
Scholarship Committee co-chairs, Sue Little and Alice Emery, thanked their fellow volunteer application reviewers, Joe D’Arrego, Nick DeNitto, Maddie Hayes, Hilary Leonhard, Judith McAllister, Linda Westinghouse and Diane Williams, for devoting many hours to read applications and offer thoughtful recommendations regarding each of this year’s scholarship hopefuls.
Here are the five scholarship recipients:
1. Mary Kocev
Mary Kocev is a graduate of York High School and the recipient of a $3,000 scholarship. She has been a familiar face at York Hospital since her freshman year when she started volunteering. As a volunteer she brought meals to patients, delivered mail, sat with patients who needed someone to chat with, and even shepherded a therapy dog to patient rooms for personal visits. In June 2019, Mary became an aide at Sentry Hill working with resident seniors, where she fell in love with working with older adults. This reinforced her decision to attend St. Anselm College to get her bachelor’s degree in nursing, become a registered nurse, with plans to eventually obtain a Master of Nursing degree, with a focus on gerontology.
Along with her volunteer work and her exceptional school grades, Mary was Principal Violinist at the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center where she played violin each week. She has received numerous academic and athletic awards, such as National Honor Society, Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony awards, Randy Lavigne Award for student athletics and the Delta Epsilon Phi award for excellence in German language studies. She has been captain of both Cross Country and Indoor Track and Field.
2. Katie Plourde
Katie Plourde is a Wells High School graduate and the recipient of a $2,000 scholarship to pursue her plans to become a doctor of osteopathic medicine or a physician assistant. While in high school, she was a member of the National Honor Society and received high honors for all trimesters, freshman through senior years. Taking challenging courses both at WHS and York County Community College have prepared Katie for the rigors of her pre-med and biology major in her freshman year.
At WHS, Katie was secretary of the Student Council Interact Club and captain of the varsity volleyball team. She earned her letterman’s jacket as a sophomore doing pole vault on the track team and qualified for state-level competition in both her freshman and sophomore years.
In addition to York Hospital, Katie volunteered her time to run junior high track meets, serve meals at the Preble Street soup kitchen and help during Red Cross blood drives. Volunteering at York Hospital and job shadowing our physicians have heightened her interest in medicine.
3. Sophie Trafton
Sophie Trafton is a graduate of York High School and the recipient of a $2,000 scholarship. Among her many academic awards are National Honor Society, the Suffolk University Book Award and the World Language Honor Society. In addition to being a class officer for three years, Sophie was a varsity athlete on the volleyball and track-and-field teams, as well as yearbook editor all four years. She coached the middle school volleyball team and helped teachers at Coastal Ridge Elementary School as a volunteer in their classrooms.
Sophie served as a volunteer senior facilitator for a group of freshmen, helping them navigate a successful transition during their first year of high school. She also actively volunteered for Eighth Grade Parent Night and various other high school events.
Sophie plans to major in biochemistry with the objective of better understanding the chemical processes of cells to study disease and cancer genes. Through her love of the sciences, Sophie hopes to one day to receive her doctorate and be in the forefront of scientific discovery to better the world.
4. Emma Parrotta
Emma Parrotta graduated from York High School and has received a $1,000 scholarship to pursue a nursing degree at The University of Maine in Orono. Her decision to become a nurse was born out of love of the profession from her grandmother. Emma learned first-hand how this profession can change lives with compassion and dedication. An honor student for her entire high school career, Emma valued the time spent on the volleyball court, while also volunteering to help aspiring young children with their volleyball skills. She also volunteered at York Hospital, and dedicated three summer church-sponsored mission trips to help better the lives of others.
5. Olivia Pride
Olivia Pride is the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship. She is a graduate of Marshwood High School, and is attending The University of New Hampshire this fall. Olivia has a strong desire to become a speech therapist, borne of a family experience with a speech disorder. She also felt honored to shadow a speech pathologist at York Hospital Pediatric Rehab Services. While she maintained a high academic profile, Olivia excelled in numerous athletic endeavors and volunteer service programs.
To raise these scholarship funds, the Friends of York Hospital holds an Annual Themed Basket Raffle each December. Last year the raffle raised over $4,400 for scholarships, supplemented by gifts from the York Hospital Physicians’ Committee and The York Hospital Apothecary. The Friends of York Hospital were therefore able to provide more than $9,000 to help these students financially during a very challenging year. A virtual raffle is planned for this year.
If you wish to donate to the Friends of York Hospital Scholarship Fund to help future students who aspire to enter careers in health care, send tax-deductible contributions to the Chairwoman of the Friends of York Hospital, Connie James:
York Hospital
Attention Connie James (Friends of York Hospital)
15 Hospital Drive
York, ME 03909
For further questions about the Friends of York Hospital Volunteer organization, contact Volunteer Coordinator Kate Ford at kford@yorkhospital.com or 207-351-2224. For inquiries regarding York Hospital services, contact York Hospital Community Relations at 207-351-2385 or info@yorkhospital.com, or visit the York Hospital website at yorkhospital.com.
Correction: This story has been updated with corrected information from the Friends of York Hospital. The organization's current chairwoman is Connie James.