WEST WARWICK ─ The Centreville Bank Charitable Foundation on June 26 announced the 2023 recipients of the Robert O. Pare College Scholarship. Amyah Bishop of Pawtucket and Lillian Sharpe of Moosup, Conn., will each receive $5,000 toward their college tuition.
The scholarships are tribute to Robert O. Pare, who served Centreville Bank as president, trustee, and corporator over the course of his 55-year banking career. When Pare retired in 2018, Centreville’s board of directors created the scholarships to honor his legacy.
Selling Luxury Real Estate Requires More Than Exposure
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Private Office Advisor Engel & Völkers Oceanside www.DiSpiritoteam.com…
Learn More
Scholarship applicants were asked to submit an essay showcasing the valuable lessons learned through community service.
“When we live in communities where everyone gets involved, and we all help each other, we thrive,” wrote Amyah Bishop, who focused her essay on her volunteer work with the YMCA to provide resources to disadvantaged youth. Bishop said that her service allowed her to view her community as a safe space and feel happy knowing she was helping.
Bishop’s work included food distribution and organizing basketball tournaments. She found it inspiring and empowering to be able to create real change at such a young age. Bishop adds that this service has allowed her to “encourage kids my age to use their voices, and I continue to let them know that their voices matter.” She will attend Emerson College in Boston this fall.
Sharpe attributes much of her and her family’s success to her community’s help during a difficult time. After being diagnosed with leukemia in 2018, the community rallied around the Sharpes. In her essay, she described her experience volunteering at the Ekonk Community Grange and Dana Farber Hospital where she received her cancer treatments.
Sharpe wrote, “During this time the community work I did was a lot different than what I was used to. I went from helping weed public gardens to sitting at my computer creating Grange programs for meetings, focused on getting people excited to help with community service and increasing memberships.” Even though she faced serious health difficulties, Sharpe continued to serve the community. She participated in the Dana Farber Jimmy Fund Walk, raising over $1,600 in an effort to give back to the hospital that helped her. She will attend Quinebaug Valley Community College in Killingly, Connecticut, to study education.
Contact PBN staff writer Sam Wood at Wood@PBN.com.
