NECC Orientation leader Courtney Morin was the recipient of two NECC scholarships.

Health issues in her early teens may have interrupted Courtney Morin’s high school education, but she isn’t letting anything interfere with her Northern Essex Community College education and has a near perfect GPA, a lengthy list of extracurriculars, and two scholarships to prove it.

The 22-year-old Bradford resident is one of 200 Northern Essex students, nearly 50 from Haverhill and Bradford, to share nearly $200,000 in scholarship money raised and distributed by NECC’s office of institutional advancement for the 2017/2018 academic year. Morin received both the Daniel Wilson Holroyd Memorial Scholarship and the Covanta Energy Scholarship.

A liberal arts major, she plans on pursuing a bachelor’s degree as well as a law degree before embarking on a career in human rights law. These are pretty heady dreams for someone who just a few years ago was felled by an undiagnosed case of Lyme Disease and all the complications that went with it. Wracked with fatigue, body aches, and anxiety, she was just 16 when she left high school. Once she was diagnosed and began treatment, she began a home schooling curriculum and eventually earned her GED in 2015.

Physically and emotionally stronger, she began working as a restaurant hostess and waitress. More confident by the day, she decided it was time to enroll in college. So, last fall, just one month before classes started, she enrolled in her first college courses. Almost immediately, she became immersed in school culture. Morin is the newly elected president of the Student Government Association, the former president of the Students for a Democratic Society Club, an orientation leader, a member of the Student Leadership Institute, a member of the Amnesty International Club, and a staffer and contributor to “Parnassus” the college’s arts and literary magazine.

“I guess you could say I’m making up for lost time,” said the self-proclaimed perfectionist and Honors Program student. “I believe it is important to be involved with one’s community, as it’s not only beneficial for others, but also for one’s personal growth. I also believe that we should always strive to be bettering ourselves which is the part that I love most about NECC, that it provides a wealth of opportunities to accomplish this.”

Morin studying in the NECC Bentley Library

And one of those opportunities came in the form of scholarships.

“I’m incredibly honored to receive the scholarships,” she said. “They were very much needed as I have already taken out one loan. I’m definitely appreciative.”

In his letter of recommendation, Behavioral Science Professor Peter Flynn wrote, “I can confidently recommend her…based on her academic skills, critical thinking and writing abilities, high level of motivation; and personal qualities of demonstrated leadership.”

“Our students are deeply appreciative of the many generous individuals and organizations that make these scholarships possible,” said Jean Poth, vice president of institutional advancement. “For many of our students, a scholarship is what allows them to stay in school.”

Scholarships range from $250 to $5,000 and come from a variety of sources, including private donors, memorial donations, local businesses, and private foundations.

Northern Essex offers an associate degrees in liberal arts with concentrations in journalism/communication, middle/high school teaching, physical sciences, philosophy, psychology, and writing.

Other Haverhill and Bradford Scholarship recipients include:

Bradford:

Bailey Bowden – Women of NECC Scholarship
Emily Bradley – NECC Foundation, Inc. Scholarship
Kaitlyn Gould – Women of NECC Scholarship
Nora Reguig – Joanne Petrillo Memorial Scholarship
Jennifer Soberon – Women of NECC Scholarship
Jennifer Soberon – Virginia Noonan – Paula Strangie Memorial Scholarship
Leandra Torres – Torrisi Family Scholarship
Elisabeth Walker – Women of NECC Scholarship

Haverhill:

Jonathan Aguilar – NECC Foundation, Inc. Scholarship
Jonathan Aguilar – Follett Bookstore Gift Cards
Alexis Alestock – Women of NECC Scholarship
Rose Bellahalea – Dr. John G. Santos Environmental Education Scholarship
Marissa Bocchetti – Matthew W. Poth Memorial Scholarship
Connie Bodemer – Quota Club of Andover Scholarship
Smeralda Casimir – Leewood Realty, LLC Sustainability Scholarship
Kelsey Ceder – NECC Foundation, Inc. Scholarship
Caitlin Clifford – Agnes & Francis J. Bevilacqua Memorial Scholarship
Brianna Comtois – Everett & Margaret Cooper Memorial Scholarship
Matthew Cote – NECC Foundation, Inc. Incoming Freshman Scholarship
Samantha Dacey – Women of NECC Scholarship
Timothy Dacey – Edward J. Sheehan Memorial Scholarship
Annabel Dryden – NECC Foundation, Inc. Transfer Scholarship
Jessica Figueroa – Dr. John & Audrey Dimitry Scholarship
Jessica Figueroa – LeBlanc Family Scholarship
Victoria Gonzalez – NECC PACE Program Transfer Scholarship
Ibrahim Gunsever – Pentucket Bank Scholarship
Gwendolyn Hampton – Geraldine Murphy Scholarship
Gwendolyn Hampton – Follett Bookstore Gift Cards
Samantha Hastings – NECC Foundation, Inc. Scholarship
Maryanne Hudson – Deborah Pifer Memorial Scholarship
Keith Joyce – Friends of NECC Transfer Scholarship
Amanda Little – Women of NECC Scholarship
Maichel Mankarios – NECC Foundation, Inc. Scholarship
Maichel Mankarios – Follett Bookstore Gift Cards
Katelyn Martin – NECC Presidential Scholar Award
Hygdrea Mathurin – Leewood Realty, LLC Sustainability Scholarship
Hygina Mathurin – Joanne Petrillo Memorial Scholarship
Joseph Meli – NECC PACE Program Transfer Scholarship
Bryan Merino – Haverhill Bank Scholarship
Nina Nieves – Barbara A. Quinn Memorial Nursing Scholarship
Margaret Njeri – Rotary Club of Haverhill Scholarship
Casimir Ntar – NECC PACE Program Transfer Scholarship
Alexandra Pezzella – Women of NECC Scholarship
Jan Pichardo – Dr. Ibrahim El-Hefni Technical Training Scholarship
Kayla Radwich – NECC Presidential Scholar Award
Sara Ramirez – Haverhill Bank Scholarship
Peter Rodriguez – NECC Foundation, Inc. Scholarship
Peter Rodriguez – NECC PACE Program Scholarship
Richard Santos – NECC Foundation, Inc. Incoming Freshman Scholarship
Emi Sisco – Gannett Welsh & Kotler, LLC Scholarship
Angel Solis – Santander Scholarship
Panagiota Souliotis – NECC Foundation, Inc. Scholarship
Alexandria Spheekas – NECC Foundation, Inc. Incoming Freshman Scholarship
Larissa Tinkham – McConnell Family Memorial Nursing Scholarship