SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – Each spring, for the last 11 years, Western Mass News has an essay competition in honor or Ray Hershel, where the winner is awarded a $2,500 scholarship to help with college expenses.
To date, we’ve given away over $15,000 to help students begin their college experience.
This year, we’re pleased to award the 2024 Ray Hershel Scholarship to Jaden Lopez from Holyoke High School.
Hershel: Can you tell us a little bit about the essay you had to submit for the scholarship and how you’re impacting lives in the community?
Lopez: “The essay I wrote was basically just talking about all the things I’ve done throughout high school, whether it be time with the Holyoke High School Theater Company or the times that I’ve worked with Enlace de Familias, a local nonprofit in Holyoke. I’ve been working with them for a couple of years now on their community empowerment lab.”
Hershel: You mention the community empowerment lab. Can you tell us a little bit about what that involves and what your specific activities are in the lab?
Lopez: “Last year, in the community empowerment lab, I signed up initially for ‘students, entrepreneurs, civic leaders.’ It was initially so students would go, they would fund us if we wanted to start a business. I went because I was interested in the civic leadership section of that program. I know a lot of your work involves working with younger students.”
Hershel: “Why is that important to you? What is your message for the younger students when you do work with them?
Lopez: “When I was working there, I met with the director, Betty Medina Lichtenstein, and she was like ‘This doesn’t really seem like a good fit for you, but I do have an event that I want to put on and I want you to help me with it.’ It was an public event, so I came up with the Holyoke Community Celebration Expo. It was an idea for the community, but it was also to work in with the community empowerment labs. Every kid that had a business, they got to sell their products at the event, and I got a bunch of other people who were local business owners to come.”
Hershel: I know you’re going to Emerson College in the fall. Can you tell us what you’ll be studying at Emerson College? What are your future career goals once you’re out of college
Lopez: “Over my summers, I like to do work with Generation Teach as a teaching fellow and that’s basically to just work with the kids – same thing. My whole thing going into that was like, I’m going to Emerson for comedic arts and that entails writing, stand up, acting, improv…I’m going to study that, and I was like ‘Hey, if I can teach a class of middle schoolers for two months, I think I can do standup and talk to a bunch of people or I think I can just talk in front of a crowd, no matter how big because middle schoolers are the toughest group to really teach.”
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