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February 1, 2019
Two Elms College students are recipients of Hon. Kent. B. Smith Scholarship
REGIONAL
Story and photo by Sharon Roulier
Pictured are (left to right) Deacon William Kern, Manuel Savalza, Atty. Michael G. McDonough, Hannah Pichardo, and Atty. Caroline Murray.
SPRINGFIELD – Two students currently attending Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee received the Hon. Kent B. Smith Scholarship on Thursday, Jan. 31 during a short ceremony in St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield.
The scholarship was awarded by the St. Thomas More Society of the Diocese of Springfield.
This year’s recipients were Manuel Savalza and Hannah Pichardo, both sophomores studying in the criminal justice program at Elms. Atty. Michael G. McDonough, director of the St. Thomas More Society, presented both with scholarship awards of $1,000.
“We really believe in helping future lawyers and future individuals in the community who are committed to joining our ranks, whether that be lawyers, court clerks, paralegals, law enforcement officers, or any people committed to the pursuit of justice,” said McDonough.
Each year since 2012, the St. Thomas More Society of Springfield presents the scholarship to two deserving students in the legal profession. McDonough said the award’s namesake, the late Hon. Kent B. Smith, was a judge in the Massachusetts Appeals Court with a reputation as “a lion of the Bar” who also went on to teach law and evidence.
Savalza, who lives off campus, said he was grateful for the scholarship monies, saying it would be put to good use toward his college expenses.
When he graduates as part of the Elms College Class of 2021, Savalza, who is from Riverside, Calif., said he hopes to become a youth correctional counselor to “work with troubled kids to show that that that’s not the way they want to live their life.”
“Everyone can turn their life around,” he said.
Pichardo said the additional funds will help offset her college expenses as well. She said she works long hours during her college breaks and in the summer at a small pizza shop in Saratoga Springs, NY., where she lives.
“It’s definitely worth it in the end, because I’m going to get a great education,” she said.
Pichardo said that following her graduation in 2021, she plans to enter the police academy and would eventually like to become a homicide detective.