McCormack Scholars, Class of 2015
Jessica Donovan
Elizabeth J. McCormack Scholar, Class of 2015
Home Town: Bristol, CT
High School: Bristol Central High School
Possible Major: Political Science
Possible Career: Lawyer
Jessica is from Bristol, CT. In high school she was very involved in music and community service. She played the flute and piccolo in concert band, sang in the concert choir, Madrigals and a jazz group, and was the manager for the choir along with section leader in band. She was also active in her local Girl Scout troop, where she served as a volunteer big sister and summer camp counselor. Jessica took AP and honors courses every year and strove for as challenging a course load as possible. Jessica plans to become a lawyer. She is also fascinated with Italy and was a member of the Italian National Honor Society. She plans to study abroad in Italy during her time at Manhattanville.
Trenah Stauffer
Elizabeth J. McCormack Scholar, Class of 2015
Hometown: Salmon, ID
High School: Heritage High School
Intended Major: Biology
Minor: Psychology
Possible Career: Physical Therapy or Neurology
Trenah was born and Salmon, ID lived there until the she was fifteen when she moved to Denver, CO to live with another family to pursue her dreams of furthering her education and playing collegiate hockey. While living away from her parents for the year was hard, it was essential for her to achieve her dreams. Adjusting to a new city, a new family, and a new school was difficult but, in the end, prepared her for college and life beyond high school. School has always been her first priority and continues to be her driving force. While in high school she excelled in honors and AP courses, graduating with high honors. Math and science have always been her favorite subjects in school but it wasn’t until her mother got sick with GBS in 2007 that she decided to pursue a career in medicine. Another reason she would like to go into medicine is her love for sports. In her senior year she captained her hockey team that took third in the nation. She would like to continue her involvement in athletics throughout her lifetime.
At Manhattanville, Trenah plays varsity hockey. She also wants to make a difference in the community by giving back to the people and places that have given her the opportunity to further her education. She is looking forward to using opportunity funds to travel abroad and volunteer in impoverished countries.
Steven Willis
Elizabeth J. McCormack Scholar, Class of 2015
Steven attended Morgan Park High School in Chicago, IL. He may eventually like to become a lawyer, but in the short term would like to focus on creative writing and communications. His passion is poetry; he was captain of his school’s poetry team. He is also an accomplished rapper, and would like to combine rap music and poetry to create educational recordings for children. He was an active participant in the open mike poetry performances at the Chicago Art Institute and hopes to find similar venues for the spoken work in New York. Steven believes that education focuses too much on repetition and teaching to the test and too little on individuality and creativity; songs, poems and dance should be used to capture the minds of children and make what they’re learning relevant to their lives.
Steven is also a talented tennis player and has played JV/Varsity Tennis through high school. He has volunteered as an assistant tennis coach at Medgar Evers Elementary School where he has helped lead boys and girls to six championships
