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A retired MTA police detective and his wife have established an all-inclusive scholarship for one Sayville High School junior to attend a prestigious pre-college summer program at Notre Dame.
Jamie Atkinson and his wife Brenda, who serves in the U.S. Navy, worked with the school district and the university to create the “Susan & Harold Atkinson Scholarship” in memory of Jamie Atkinson’s parents. The scholarship will entirely fund the highly competitive Notre Dame Summer Scholars’ Program in South Bend, Indiana, next summer, from June 26 to July 10.
Click here to apply today.
The summer learning experience will yield one college credit — along with the college life experience, Jamie Atkinson said.
“Additionally, this summer program will strengthen a student’s candidacy to attend a competitive college upon graduating from Sayville High School,” Atkinson, a volunteer with the Community Ambulance Company in Sayville since he was 14, wrote in a letter to Sayville juniors.
The scholarship recipient will also be in line to receive an additional $1,000 scholarship (toward the college of their choice) in the name of Brenda Atkinson’s late father Humberto Orejuela. That award comes with the successful completion of the Notre Dame summer program and graduation from Sayville High School.
Participants in the Notre Dame Summer Scholars program spend two intensive weeks in one of 25 programs of study. The classes are small and students receive personal attention from Notre Dame faculty. Outside of class, students collaborate on coursework, as they would typically do at college.
To be considered for the scholarship and get reimbursed for the application fees, Sayville High School juniors must apply online through Notre Dame’s website and deliver a printed copy of their application to Sayville High School’s guidance department by Nov. 30.
Jamie Atkinson was a 19-year-old first responder at the World Trade Center in wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. As a result, he said he was recently diagnosed with an extremely rare of stage-four cancer.
His parents — the inspiration for the scholarship — were “pioneers in law enforcement and very active in the Sayville Community,” Jamie Atkinson wrote in his letter to Sayville juniors
Harold Atkinson was an MTA police officer and a U.S. Navy Veteran. He died last November. Susan Atkinson passed away in 1999.
The photo above is from the University of Notre Dame’s website: precollege.nd.edu/summer-scholars/.
