By Cindy Zomar, Education Coordinator
MARLBOROUGH – Three high school graduates were recently celebrated at a short ceremony at Stevens Field in Marlborough, where they received their Babe Ruth League scholarships.
Marlborough Babe Ruth president Mike Daly was on hand to introduce Trey Fucillo, Zhenya Kurland and Matt Farrell. He also presented each of them with a check for $250 and a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card.
“These were a great bunch of boys,” Daly announced. “What class and character they each have; we wish them well as they move on to college.”
Hailing from Marlborough High School, Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School and the Advanced Math and Science Academy (AMSA), this year’s scholarship winners found plenty of common ground on the baseball diamond, having all started their athletic careers at a young age.
Trey Fucillo just graduated from AMSA this year. He will matriculate to Emerson College in the fall, where he will major in Political Communications. His plans include playing baseball for the school.
Fucillo has a further connection to baseball, as he has been one of the District Two representatives to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Student Advisory Committee.
“My experience with the MIAA as an ambassador and then as an advisory committee member has been so rewarding,” he said.
Attending meetings with the Educational Athletics Committee, the Student Advisory Committee members help plan leadership workshops and provide feedback from a student’s perspective. The committee is intended to continually improve the education athletics arm of the MIAA.
Fucillo received the Mark Buczek Memorial Scholarship.
From Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School, Zhenya Kurland was awarded the Lincoln Donahue Memorial Scholarship. Kurland graduated from the Drafting and Engineering Design program at Assabet and will attend the University of New Hampshire. He plans to major in Business Management and hopes to be a walk-on for the UNH baseball team.
Matt Farrell, from Marlborough High School, will attend UMass Amherst in the fall where he will major in Finance. He was the recipient of the Michael Marinoni Memorial Scholarship. Although not planning to play baseball in college, Farrell is not exactly ready to hang up his cleats.
“And so, my journey into the world of Slow Pitch Softball and the men’s baseball league begins,” he laughed.
The three walked arm-in-arm from the field at their Babe Ruth scholarship event, excited and looking forward to the next chapters in their lives.