Shoreline students win $3K bar association scholarships

MIDDLETOWN — The Middlesex County Bar Association recently awarded a total of $3,000 in funding for two Middlesex County high school students whose essays on “Toward a More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change” were among the top submissions.

The Middlesex County Bar Association is a nonprofit organization of attorney members who reside or work in Middlesex County. Its mission is to assure “meaningful” access to justice, increase public understanding of and respect for the rule of law and legal process, according to a press release. It offers benefits to the Middlesex County public, and strives to offer programs, including the scholarship program, which has been in force for over 15 years.

The successful candidates are Sophia Barker, a student at Old Saybrook High School, and Mercedes Peno, a student at Valley Regional High School.

This year's successful applicants were judged on their academic achievement, service to community and school, monetary need, and the quality of their essays, Attorney Richard F. Paladino of Old Saybrook, chairman of the Scholarship Committee, said in a prepared statement.

This year, Attorney Richard D. Carella, president of the Bar Association, spearheaded the 110-member plus association's effort to continue the association's tradition, and, this year at a live luncheon at The Inn at Middletown.

In her application, Barker wrote of the true values embodied in the Constitution, allowance for societal changes and growth to adapt to future challenges. She plans on attending Suffolk University, and, eventually, law school to obtain a juris doctorate degree, the news release said.

Peno wrote of the Constitution being a blueprint for a “dynamic” country and the importance of unity in order to improve the nation. She plans on attending Salve Regina University and majoring in elementary and special education.