Greater Lowell Kiwanis Foundation Memorial Scholarship

Dakota is from Tewksbury, MA. Next year she will be attending Clemson University majoring in Psychology on a Pre-Med track in hopes of becoming a pediatric psychiatrist. While attending Tewksbury Memorial High School, she was captain of the girls basketball team, a member of Best Buddies, and a state competitor for DECA. In her free time she volunteered for the Special Olympics and A Shot for Life.

Ben O'Brien is a student athlete who cares about family, friends and his community. He demonstrates his civic responsibility through his community service with Chelmsford High School Football and Lacrosse teams as well many years with Chelmsford Pop Warner Football, Youth basketball and baseball.  Ben has also donated his time to Toys For Tots and Salvation Army.  Most notably Ben has many years and countless hours of volunteer work with Kiwanis Club of Greater Lowell.  His family legacy is strong within Kiwanis with his grandfather Donald Horan serving many years and currently his mother Patti O'Brien and his aunt Kelly Horan.  He is always ready to roll up his sleeves and help.  

Nyla is a Puerto Rican, Dominican, 18 year old student who is very involved. She spends a lot of time at school participating in many extracurriculars. She was her high school's class president, the NEMASC delegate for Dracut High Schools Student, an actor in her school's plays and musicals, and assistant director for their recent spring musical, and lastly, the head photographer for her school's newspaper. In her free time, she loves to keep herself busy by reading, watching sitcoms or horror movies, and spending time with friends and family. She can’t live without music or the color green. In the future, she will be attending Suffolk University for Journalism because she plans to be a news reporter and work in the city. 

Navin Ramesh is an aspiring physician and environmental policymaker, with passion for sustainable healthcare. He’s explored the fields of healthcare, policy, and emergency management as a FEMA National YPC Councilman, Medical Reserve Corps volunteer, Red Cross volunteer, and congressional intern for Massachusetts’ 3rd District. He created and distributed 5000+ preparedness resources across New England's most vulnerable communities and co-led a nationwide psychological first aid training. Serving with the Sudanese American Medical Association and furthering their mission, he’s discovered his lifelong calling: compassionate medicine in the communities of highest need. He is co-founder and cartoonist of Spirit E-magazine, which has enabled him to raise money for underprivileged students’ education. He loves reading Calvin and Hobbes, playing hockey with friends, and spending time in the beautiful New England outdoors. This fall, he will be attending Brown University as a part of the Program in Liberal Medical Education, and hopes to study environmental science and/or economics.

Drew is from Tewksbury, MA. Next year he will be attending George Washington University where he plans on studying finance and business administration. He hopes to one day become a financial advisor and investor. While in high school he served on Student Government, was a member of DECA, and Best Buddies. He also played soccer, lacrosse, and track. In his free time he volunteered at York Hospital delivering food to patients and the Somerville Homeless Coalition where he helped to cook and serve food to the homeless.