Dickinson College Announces Recipient of Inaugural Dickinson-Carlisle Scholarship
Dickinson College President Margee Ensign presents the Dickinson-Carlisle Scholarship to Bethany Petrunak, a senior at Carlisle High School.
Bethany Petrunak, a senior at Carlisle High School, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the Dickinson-Carlisle Scholarship, a four-year, full-tuition scholarship awarded annually to a college-bound Carlisle resident who is engaged in service and leadership in the community. Dickinson President Margee Ensign recently presented the scholarship to Petrunak at the Carlisle High School Senior Awards Night.
“This scholarship has changed my life. There were hardly any college discussions in my family that didn’t make their way to money one way or another,” said Petrunak, who was selected from a pool of a dozen highly qualified candidates for her outstanding academic achievements and commitment to service.
“We are proud to welcome Bethany to the Dickinson family. Her academic work and commitment to community embody the spirit of the Dickinson-Carlisle Scholarship, and we are very excited to watch all she’ll accomplish at Dickinson,” said Ensign, who announced the creation of the scholarship last fall as a reflection of the college’s deep commitment to the community and to providing a distinctive brand of useful education for the common good. The scholarship was recently recognized by Forbes as a “good neighbor” initiative.
At Carlisle High School, Petrunak ranks in the top 7 percent of the senior class and belongs to the National Honor Society, National English Honor Society and the National French Honor Society. She has a passion for writing, music and art history and contributes to many performing arts programs at Carlisle High School, including CoffeeHouse and the Shakespeare Program. She also is a member of the Chamber Singers and has performed at both district and regional chorus. She served as a delegate to the Model UN convention. She has served the community through years of work with Mini-THON, both as a committee member and as an adviser, and holds a part-time job at Helena’s Chocolate Café and Creperie in downtown Carlisle.
“Dickinson is the right fit for me because it fosters personal growth and demands exploration. I get to pursue my interests, which grow more and more diverse each year,” said Petrunak, a member of Dickinson’s class of 2022. She will begin classes on September 3. “Perhaps I am most excited to meet future Dickinson-Carlisle Scholars and watch as Dickinson changes their lives by giving them the opportunity to change the world,” she said.
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Published May 18, 2018