Weinhold Scholarship

The Weinhold Scholarship was established to honor Russ and Dot Weinhold, who were beloved and dedicated tutors right from the beginning of the organization. Each year, ACTS awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors who were either students or tutors (or both!) in the ACTS program, who have been accepted to a higher education, professional, or trade school.

It was with great pleasure that we were able to award three worthy recipients this year. Read on to learn more about this impressive trio:

Vivian Welch

Vivian Welch, a graduate of Longmeadow High School, has been a tutor at Christ Church Cathedral for the past two years. She will be attending Fordham University in New York City in the Fall where she plans to major in political science. She has always had an interest in law and politics. As a National Honor Society member for 2 years, she also won a silver medal in the National Spanish Exam. Besides volunteering for ACTS, Vivian has been an elementary library volunteer and was the student representative for the Western Mass Coalition Against Substance Abuse.

Vivian credits her mother, who is presently a librarian at Brookings School, for inspiring her to be a tutor and to work with city children. From this experience she has developed more empathy and patience and has been delighted to watch her students build confidence in their work and grow academically. The community that develops at an ACTS site has also been very inspiring for her. It is such a privilege to award this talented, thoughtful girl a Weinhold scholarship.

Maya Wood

Maya Wood, a graduate of Longmeadow High School, has been a tutor at Christ Church Cathedral for the past two years. As an adventurous young person, Maya will be attending the University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland in the Fall and will major in zoology and minor in Latin. They come by their love of animals from an early age with lots of pets, including “weird” ones like a cockroach. They hope to teach biology to high school students with an emphasis on zoology after college. Maya was a member of the National Honor Society for two years and won both a gold and silver medal for the Latin exam. Maya was also a Girl Scout for twelve years, earning badges and doing service projects.

Maya credits ACTS with “increasing their passion for teaching, allowed them to gain new friends and closely bond with their students.” As a creative and passionate young person, they make an excellent recipient of the Weinhold scholarship.

Eliana Worpek

Eliana Worpek is a graduating senior from the Springfield Conservatory of the Arts, where she achieved maximum honors all four years. Her goal is to attend Smith College in Northampton, MA this fall. Eliana has been a tutor at Christ Church Cathedral for the 2024-2025 school year. Eliana’s other volunteer experiences include being a Patient Escort and a Student Ambassador at Baystate Hospital. Eliana also interned at the Community Music School of Springfield. Eliana plans to attend Smith College in Northampton, MA this fall.

In Eliana’s own words, in part, when applying for this Weinhold Scholarship: “Being a tutor at ACTS has allowed me to not only assist my student academically but also become a mentor to her. Knowing that I’m being looked at as a role model by someone much younger than me makes me feel pushed to work harder and show my student that similar behaviors lead to positive consequences. Above all, I’ve come to believe that a child exposed to the arts and taught to have values that align with those from the Bible will become a more empathetic adult.”