2026 BrightBridge Scholarship Awards

Congratulations to the 18 recipients of BrightBridge's 2026 College Scholarship!

Scholarship recipients were selected from a competitive pool of over 700 applicants. They were selected based on their academic performance in high school, their commitment to both their school and their communities, and their essay describing how they define "success".

We awarded the 5th Annual Lisa Lewis Goodman Community Spirit Award: A $2,500 award to the student who dedicates themselves to performing good works in their community - both in school and out.

Three students received a James A. Burley Jr. Scholarship Award. The James A. Burley Jr. Scholarship was founded in 2007 by the former RTN Federal Credit Union. Burley Jr. was a passionate member of the credit union community and served on RTN’s board of directors for 39 years, 33 of which he served as the board chair.

This year's recipients:

Lisa Lewis Goodman Community Spirit Award

• Ashanti Vargas- Graduating senior from Lawrence High School. Ashanti will be attending Swarthmore College where she will be studying Neuroscience on a premed track.

James A. Burley Jr. Scholarship

• Kiley Candon - Graduating senior from Windham High School. Kiley will be studying civil engineering.
• Sanya Nadeem - Graduating senior from Lawrence High School. Sanya will be attending Cornell University where she will be studying Political Science on the pre-law track.
• Owen Balsis - Graduating senior from Bromfield School. Owen will be attending Brown University where he will be studying Pre-med. 

BrightBridge Scholarship

• Dylan Keenan- Graduating senior from Taunton High School. Dylan will be attending Tufts University where he will be studying Psychology.
• Caden Olsen - Graduating senior from Hopedale Jr. Sr. High School. Caden will be attending UMass Amherst where he will be studying Management.
• Mia Crizer - Graduating senior from Wachusett Regional High School. Mia will be attending Liberty University in where she will be studying Mental Health Counseling. 
• Grigorii Abramian - Graduating senior from Dover Sherborn High School. Grigorii will be attending UMass Amherst where he will be studying Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 
• Ava Pryzgoda - Graduating senior from Barnstable High School. Ava will be attending Northeastern University where she will be studying Bioengineering and Behavioral Neuroscience. 
• Arya Sheth - Graduating senior from Advanced Math and Science Academy. Arya will be attending Georgia Institute of Technology where she will be studying Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
• Maya Aminova - Graduating senior from Taunton High School. Maya will be attending Yale University where she will be studying Math and Public Health.
• Dylan Andreola - Graduating senior from Hopkinton High School. Dylan will be attending Georgetown University where he will be studying Nursing.
• Julia Davis - Graduating senior from Bishop Fenwick High School. Julia will be attending Boston College where she will be studying Neuroscience on a premed track.
• Luz del Alba Diaz- Graduating senior from Abott Lawrence Academy. Luz will be attending Princeton University where she will be studying Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
• Braley Boucher - Graduating senior from Fairhaven High School. Braley will be attending Western New England University where he will be studying Mechanical Engineering.
• Harrison Zheng - Graduating senior from Fairhaven High School. Harrison will be attending Harvard University where he will be studying Computer Science and Economics. 
• Thalia Bazile - Graduating senior from Blue Hills Regional Technical High School. Thalia will be attending Claremont McKenna College where he will be studying Public Policy.
• Kelsey Ikonen - Graduating senior from University of Connecticut. Kelsey will be attending Unversity of Connecticut where she will be studying Exercise Science.