Four students are honored with the first annual Oscar “Okie” Regalado Scholarship for the Arts
By Eddy K. Foster, Staff Writer, UnionvilleTimes.com
A special scholarship honoring UHS graduate Oscar "Okie" Regalado for Unionville High seniors, Wednesday night. From left, Sean Tierney, Brittany Baumeister, teacher Besty Ballard, Mrs. Regalado, Chris Trombetta and Laura Regalado.
EAST MARLBOROUGH — A stunning 66 Unionville High School Seniors were honored with awards and scholarships from community groups, foundations, and extracurricular clubs.
Principal Paula Massanari praised the students. “Every Senior here tonight has really achieved success in their education. We are here tonight to honor our hard work and dedication,” Massanari said.
One of the biggest honorees of the night was Luis Gutierrez, who won five scholarships over the course of the evening. Science teacher William Anderson, who presented him with the U-CF Education Foundation Scholarship, explained why his achievement was so special, “Imagine being uprooted and transported into a country with different customs, language, and educational method then you are used to at the age of eight. Luis had to take home extra work every day for much of his educational career just to keep up, and in the end he excelled.” Luis also won scholarships from the American Mushroom Institute, the New Garden Friends Meeting and the Applestone Foundation, as well as earning a Lynn Kern Scholarship.
Other big winners included Devon Patton and Emily Olson, who each won four scholarships, as well as Duncan Keller, Jais Hansen, and Brittany Baumeister who each won three. Principal Paula Massanari specifically praised Emily Olson, saying, “we really like her.”
There were several new awards presented at the event. A scholarship memorializing art teacher Jeffrey Wheet was presented to Veda Sun, with Wheet’s brother Gerald Wheet presenting the award. “We wanted to continue his legacy as a teacher of his student family,” Wheet said.
Another new award was the first annual Oscar “Okie” Regalado Scholarship for the Arts. Named after recently deceased Unionville Student “Okie” Regalado, this award was put together by members of the Regalado family as well as Family and Consumer Sciences teacher and Spring Play director Betsy Ballard. The award was presented to Brittany Baumeister, Chris Trombetta, Laura Regalado, and Sean Tierney.
The evening also took a somber turn when Carrie Dickmann presented the scholarship in honor of her daughter, Kristen Dickmann, who passed away during her time at the military academy a few years ago. Carrie Dickmann was emotional while presenting the award to Cailey Oehler, who she claimed had, “a ton of heart in a pint-sized package,” just like her daughter.
The Seniors from Unionville High School graduate on June 7th at the University of Delaware.
