Wheelock College Celebrates Waltham Scholar

Wheelock College celebrates Alexandra Abrecht, a Waltham local and member of the Wheelock Class of 2017, along with 16 other Passion for Action Scholars at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 from 6-9 p.m. This fourth Passion for Action Leadership Award Dinner celebrates the positive social entrepreneurship of the Wheelock scholarship recipients. The Wheelock College four-year Passion for Action Scholarship is given to incoming freshmen from greater Boston who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to community service and involvement.

At the celebration, the College honors Year Up and its founder Gerald Chertavian who will be awarded the 2013 Passion for Action Leadership Award for their work in closing the Opportunity Divide for thousands of young adults across the United States. The Leadership Award Dinner features a keynote address by Anuradha Koirala, the Founder and Executive Director of Maiti Nepal, recognized by CNN in 2010 as one of the TOP 10 Heroes of the world.

Wheelock College’s four-year Passion for Action Scholarship Program is given to incoming freshmen from greater Boston who already demonstrated an exceptional commitment to community service and involvement.

Abrech graduated from Chapel Hill, Chauncy High School in Waltham, MA, where she was a member of the National Honor Society and received the Headmaster’s Book Prize for social consciousness, bravery, and leadership. She is passionate about working with children and spent time volunteering at Weston Windows, a preschool program for children ages 3-5, some of whom are identified as having developmental delays or sensory-motor, fine motor, and gross motor development difficulties. As a brain tumor survivor with a hearing impairment, Abrech is committed to giving back and helping others deal with their challenges. She currently volunteers regularly at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. At Wheelock, Abrech hopes to continue her work with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

Wheelock College created the Passion for Action Scholarship Program in 2007 for outstanding incoming Wheelock students from Greater Boston.  The scholarship provides a $20,000 annual award toward Wheelock College tuition and is paired with a unique academic program which develops students' leadership and community service skills. The first Passion Scholars graduated from Wheelock in May 2012; there are currently 17 Passion Scholars enrolled.  Five scholarships are awarded every year to members of the incoming class.

The proceeds from the 2013 Passion for Action Leadership Award Dinner will support the growth of this special scholarship program.