Adam Keenan was an avid athlete and played ball throughout his life. He made many friends playing for the Shedd Park League in Lowell, the Post 87 American Legion League, Lowell High School, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Franklin Pierce University, and the Seacoast Mavericks. In 2011, Adam died unexpectedly during summer baseball practice. His family and friends later learned that Adam had a little-known form of heart disease called Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC), which often has no symptoms in its early stages. Increased exercise can worsen its effects, thereby impacting athletes.

As a result of this sudden and tragic loss, Adam’s family and friends rallied to create a memorial scholarship fund for Lowell High School students in Adam’s name. Their efforts were met with incredible support. Adam’s family also participates in the Heart Walk each year to bring awareness to ARVC and raise funds and awareness.

This year, Adam’s friends and family presented the Adam Keenan Memorial Scholarship to a student who exceled in sportsmanship, academics, and commitment to athletics. Through this scholarship, Adam’s passion for athletics lives on.

To support the Adam Michael Keenan memorial scholarship, please call 978-970-1600.

Alice Dolan Murphy spent a lifetime caring for others and tending to the ill, working in Lowell as a nurse until her late sixties. She spent her career in the pediatric unit of St. John’s Hospital in Lowell and caring for elderly patients in a local nursing home. Education was important to Alice, and she continued to keep in touch with her classmates from nursing school long after beginning her career. She mentored two of her own children to become nurses and instructors in the nursing field.

After Alice’s passing, her children decided that the best way to honor their mother’s passion for nursing and education would be to create a scholarship fund for college-level nursing students. Alice and her family have deep ties to Lowell and the local community, and they thought it fitting to award a scholarship to a Lowell High School student. The ideal candidate for the scholarship is hard-working, committed to caring for the sick, and enrolled in a four-year nursing program. Each year, Alice’s children present this scholarship on Honors Night at Lowell High School to a student who embodies these qualities.

To support the Alice Dolan Murphy Scholarship Fund, or to learn more about creating a scholarship fund, please call 978-970-1600.

Academic excellence and commitment to Lowell runs in the Conway family. The James F. Conway Scholarship Fund was established to remember the life of a local businessman, Lowell High School alumnus, and founding member of the Lowell Plan. From an early age, the importance of education was instilled in James by his parents, who were both teachers at Lowell High School: his mother taught German and his father Chemistry. After graduating from Lowell High School, James went on to obtain a Master in Business Administration degree from Harvard in 1949.

In 1966, James would become the CEO and President of Courier Corporation, one of the country’s largest printers of books. His business travels around the world allowed him to make friends in many countries, but he remained very committed to investing in Lowell. His life experiences shaped his generosity and vision for strengthening the community. As a founding member of the Lowell Plan, he promoted the economic, educational, and cultural advancement of the city of Lowell.

After James’s passing in 1992, his wife Grace and her six children James, Peter, Michael, Stephen, Ruth, and John established a scholarship fund in his memory. To honor his commitment to Lowell, Lowell High School, and academic achievement, the James F. Conway Jr. Scholarship is awarded yearly by his son Michael to the valedictorian and salutatorian of Lowell High School.

To support the James F. Conway Jr. Scholarship Fund, or to learn more about creating a scholarship fund, please call 978-970-1600.

When the children of Reverend Dr. Peter G. Rizos set out to celebrate the accomplishments of their father, they turned to the Greater Lowell Community Foundation. Reverend Dr. Peter G. Rizos dedicated his life to promoting education and supporting youth, and Demetrius and Aris knew that their father, a humble and thoughtful man, would appreciate the creation of a scholarship fund in his name. As a teacher at Lowell High School for more than three decades, Rev. Rizos encouraged learning and championed the needs of a diverse group of students who fondly referred to him as “Doc Rizos.” With the development of a four-year honors level Latin and Greek curricula, he was a founding contributor to the Latin Lyceum. While serving for nearly two decades as associate pastor at the Greek Orthodox Holy Trinity Church in Lowell, he spearheaded the development of youth programs. He served parish communities as a Greek Orthodox priest for 48 years and is the pastor of Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Lowell today.

Reverend Dr. Peter G. Rizos is a life-long scholar, educator, and faith leader. After graduating from Lowell High School as a Carney Medal Scholar, he attended the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary and was ordained into the priesthood. He went on to receive a PhD in Religious Education from Boston University while cultivating his love of education. He and his wife of nearly fifty years, Alexandra Manousos Rizos, instilled a passion for learning in their children from a young age. As a second-generation immigrant, Dr. Rizos was close to his Greek origins; in fact, in Greek, “rizos” means “roots”. Dr. Rizos has traveled to his ancestral village in the most southern tip of the Peloponnese with his family and introduced his grandchildren to their heritage.

Today, the Reverend Dr. Peter G. Rizos Scholarship is awarded to the highest-ranking senior of Greek descent at Lowell High School. The scholarship fund honors the life of a man who continues to promote education, faith, and the importance of cultural identity.

To support the Reverend Dr. Peter G. Rizos Scholarship Fund or to learn more about starting your own fund, please call 978-970-1600.

Before his passing, Michael DeVincenzi shared with his family his belief that the most important thing in life is for people to show kindness to others. That’s precisely how Michael lived his life. He was a social studies and psychology teacher at Lowell High School for twenty years, the Social Studies Department Chair, and was named Merrimack Valley Conference Tennis Coach of the Year. Through years of teaching and coaching Michael made an impact on many lives.

Michael’s kindness and the number of lives he touched truly became evident to his family at his memorial. The number of people paying respects grew so large that the church became so filled with guests that people were standing in aisles. Students, friends, colleagues, and doctors and hospital staff all came to remember Michael. Michael’s family wanted to create a meaningful way to remember his kindness and love of teaching so they started the Michael DeVincenzi Scholarship Fund.

Scholarships funds create a legacy that impact future generations. The Greater Lowell Community Foundation can help individuals remember a loved one. By setting up a scholarship fund with the Community Foundation, Michael’s family will be able to continue to show the kindness he talked so passionately about, and support future leaders through his memory.

For more information on contributing to the Michael DeVincenzi Scholarship Fund, or on starting your own scholarship fund, please call 978-970-1600.

Over twenty years ago, the Cameroonians of Lowell Association (CAMOLA) was started with the hopes of bringing together all Lowell residents of Cameroonian descent to share their cultural heritage through engagement in cultural, economic, and community plans. Over the past two decades, this motivated group has been able to support community improvement efforts in Lowell and Cameroon: CAMOLA has supported the Merrimack Valley Food Bank’s annual food drive, as well as an orphanage in Africa.

Recently, CAMOLA established its first scholarship fund to support Cameroonian-American Lowell High School graduates in pursuing a higher education. Students must demonstrate a commitment to high academic standards, community service, and volunteerism. This is one of many LHS scholarships honoring cultural heritage that is administered by the Greater Lowell Community Foundation.

CAMOLA fundraised for nearly 3 years to create a scholarship fund that could support future generations of students with a Cameroonian or other sub-Saharan African background. To grow the fund, CAMOLA rode in the GLCF’s River Ride Bike-a-Thon on September 27th.

For more information on contributing to the CAMOLA Scholarship Fund, or on starting your own scholarship fund, please call 978-970-1600.