FARMINGTON — Each year, Farmington Rotary awards $1,500 scholarships to students at Mt. Abram High School and Mt. Blue High School. Funds are raised through Rotary’s annual yard sale and other fundraising efforts.

The Rotary Scholarship recipients for 2025 are as follows:

Mt. Abram:
Summer Love
Bailea Haines

Mt. Blue:
Anglee Brewer
Carter Norton
Nolan Leso, Janet Warner Scholarship
Astrid Jones, Alan Nemlich Scholarship

The applicants this year were stellar and demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to leadership, community, and service. For example, Summer Love from Mt. Abram, noted in her applications that “’Service Above Self’ has been one of my main goals throughout my life, and I have exhibited it to a great extent. I find that it is a very important principle because it reinforces humility. I am the current secretary of the National Honor Society, and this principle encapsulates almost all four of its crucial pillars. Three of the major NHS pillars that represent ‘Service Above Self’ are service, leadership, and character. ‘Service Above Self’ means that you are willing to contribute to the community, take a leadership role, and emphasize selflessness. One of my biggest aspirations is to be a better person and, by doing this, help the community and other people in need. I have almost 300 hours of community service, and have provided help to the community. I have taken comfort in these many hours, knowing that people are thankful for my contributions.”

Nolan Leso of Farmington shared his passion for sports, noting, “I have always pushed myself beyond my comfort zones, understanding that that’s where the greatest personal growth occurs. Having played at a varsity level in both baseball and basketball since my freshman year, I have always had high expectations placed on me, and have developed the skills to keep my cool in pressure-packed situations. I have taken on leadership roles as the varsity baseball captain since my junior year, and my current position is as the basketball captain.

“Through sports, I have had to exhibit responsibility and an ability to take action. For example, last year our high school baseball team was not granted a dedicated coach. He was absent often and was not committed to the team. I was chosen to be a captain, and I really tried to commit myself to being not only a player but the leader of the team. I was always the first one to practice, usually with a car full of younger players, and I was the last to leave. I saw this not as a burden but as an opportunity to test my leadership skills and to develop the players around me. In practice, when our coach wasn’t there, I took it upon myself to lead drills and act as the coach for my players. I wanted them to look up to me as a role model, and on the diamond, their leader.”