Anna Reishus wins $10,000 scholarship
Graduating senior Anna Reishus has been selected by Winchester High School as this year’s McKeown Scholar. She will be recognized during Senior Awards Night at the school’s auditorium on Tuesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Reishus will receive a $10,000 scholarship and a framed certificate to be presented by Winchester resident Denise McKeown, widow of James L. McKeown, for whom the award is named.
The McKeown Scholars competition, now in its 18th year, is sponsored by Woburn-based Cummings Foundation.
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Joel Swets, the Foundation’s executive director and a Winchester resident, noted, “We are pleased to recognize Anna’s academic achievement, her leadership, and her writing ability. She is very talented and well-rounded, and just the kind of student we look for to represent the McKeown Scholars program.”
Reishus supports the community by volunteering with Reach Out and Read, a program that pairs older students with younger ones over the summer to promote early literacy. An accomplished athlete, she played volleyball throughout high school, making the varsity team her junior and senior years.
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Reishus will attend Northwestern University in the fall, where she hopes to play club or intramural volleyball and plans to study film.
Winchester high school seniors in the top 20 percent of their class were invited to participate in the McKeown Scholars competition, which began on March 5 with a written essay under exam conditions. Staff from Winchester High School’s English Department evaluated the anonymous essays and selected the top three finalists. The winner was then determined based on overall essay quality, application packet, community service record, reputation, and a personal interview.
“I never thought I would actually get it,” said Reishus. “I was really excited when I found out—excited for the scholarship, but more importantly, excited to be recognized for my work.”
This year’s essay question prompted students to imagine they founded a college or university, and asked what topics of study they would make mandatory.
"The interdisciplinary study of society and human development helps people to appreciate where they have been, decide where they must go, and determine what they must do to get there," said Reishus.
