Melanie Merola O'Donnell Memorial Scholarship Fund

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The Melanie Merola O’Donnell Memorial Scholarship is a $2,500 scholarship to be awarded to a candidate pursuing a doctoral or master’s degree in the mental health field.

  • The scholarship will be awarded to a candidate for one year. Candidates may reapply for additional years.
  • The deadline for receipt of the completed scholarship application is February 8, 2008.
  • The scholarship recipient will be personally notified and publicly announced by June 1, 2008. All other applicants will be notified electronically.

 

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  • Currently enrolled or accepted into a graduate program majoring in the mental health field in the United States (programs must be accredited by the credentialing agency appropriate to the field of study);
  • Provide evidence of past involvement in extracurricular, volunteer, research and/or career related activities;
  • Demonstrate experience and interest in one or more of the ideals to which Melanie Merola O’Donnell committed herself.  

 

Application requirements include:

  • Resume (include email address) and cover letter.

    Official undergraduate transcripts.

    Three letters of reference supporting the candidate’s application from adults who have known the candidate for more than one year (at least one from a professional in the mental health field, another from an individual who has known the candidate either personally or professionally for five years or more). Letters of reference should be mailed directly to the scholarship committee.

    A typed (double-spaced) essay of no more than 2-3 pages on how your experiences in the mental health profession have shaped your life and how you will use your college and graduate education to assist communities in a manner consistent with Melanie Merola O’Donnell’s values of compassion, generosity, respect, and honesty. 

    As an option you may choose one of the following quotes to incorporate into your statement:

    Mahatma Gandhi

    "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

     

    Elbert Hubbard

    "Some succeed by what they know, some by what they do, and a few by what they are."

     

    Ingrid Bengis

    "For me, words are a form of action, capable of influencing change."

     

     

    Please review the printable Application for more details. 

     

    The Melanie Merola O’Donnell Memorial Scholarship will distribute monies to individuals for the advancement of educational purposes. Monies will be given in a non-discriminatory fashion in terms of racial preference, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, Vietnam-era or disabled veteran status; based on merit, and to a charitable class in terms of being available to an open-ended group, rather than to pre-selected individuals.

     

     

    The Melanie Merola O’Donnell Memorial Scholarship is tax free to the recipient only if he or she is a candidate for a degree at an eligible educational institution; and uses the scholarship to pay qualified educational expenses. Qualified education expenses include tuition and fees; and course-related expenses such as books, supplies and equipment. Room and board, travel, research, clerical help, and non-required equipment are not qualified education expenses (see Internal Revenue Service Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, for additional information). 

     

     

    Scholarship money will be distributed directly to the selected recipient within two weeks of notification of selection from the board of directors of the Melanie Merola O’Donnell Memorial Scholarship. The board requires that the grantee(s) will submit a financial report annually of all funds granted, specifying how the money was used (see Annual Financial Report document). In addition, school documentation must be provided showing credit awarded to the grantee for the semester(s) attended. The reports must be returned to the treasurer of the Melanie Merola O’Donnell Memorial Scholarship by the date specified on the report.

     

     

    Diversions of funds from their intended purposes will be investigated by The Melanie Merola O’Donnell Memorial Scholarship Committee. The committee will take all reasonable and appropriate steps to recover diverted funds, ensure other grant funds held by a grantee are used for their intended purposes, and that grantees will take extraordinary precautions to prevent future diversions from occurring.

     

     

    Press Release 2008

  • Melanie Merola O'Donnell Memorial Scholarship Fund Announces 2008 Recipients

     

Press Release 2007