By Karena Garrity

Paying it forward is exactly what the Westbrook High School Classes of 1993 through 1998 decided to do with the money they had left over after their recent reunion. There was a surplus of $450.00 after their festivities were over and they jointly decided to donate that money to the Westbrook Foundation to be used for a scholarship for a graduating student in 2012.

“We wanted to have the money go to something good and worthwhile in this town instead of just sitting in a bank account somewhere,” explained Erica Syzdek, a representative from the graduating class of 1997. She now works as a special education and reading teacher at Westbrook High School. “Our hope is that the money goes to a student who embodies the spirit of Westbrook and someone who needs the funds.”

The specific request from the classes is to have this money be “…used for a student in good standing who plans to further his or her education, but is not in the top tenth percentile of their class.”

“As a whole we decided that this would be a nice thing to do with the money,” explains Melissa Ozols, also a representative from the class of 1997, who received a scholarship from the Westbrook Foundation when she graduated.

“We all enjoyed our time and education in Westbrook and we think it is great that there are so many scholarships given out by the Westbrook Foundation that help so many students,” Melissa added.

Although the 1993 to 1998 graduation classes would like to continue to donate money to the Foundation on a yearly basis for a scholarship, at this point the $450.00 is only for 2012.

“Maybe in the future we can find a way to keep the giving going, but for now this is what we can do,” said Melissa.

Erica added, “This is just one way that Westbrook Graduates can stay connected to the town and to the school system and this is our way of giving back.”