OLD LYME — At the 15th Annual Meeting of the Old Lyme Historical Society Inc. (OLHSI), which was held virtually June 8 via Zoom, Kevin Cole, Chairman of the OLHSI Scholarship & Youth Outreach Committee, announced the recipients of the 2020 Carol Noyes Winters Scholarship Awards, which are given annually to outstanding Lyme-Old Lyme students intending to study history in college.
Cole noted, “Once again this year, there were two exemplary recipients: Conner Wyman and Audrey Berry,” adding,C”ongratulations to both of them!”
The awards were presented in person June 10, at a ceremony held at the OLHSI building on Lyme St.
During his announcement in the Annual Meeting, Cole went on to give more details of Wyman and Berry’s credentials which caused them to be selected as the award winners.
Cole described Wyman’s, “Seriously impressive responses on his application and exemplary references,” which included many previous awards such as the Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) Social Studies Scholar Award 2019 and the VFW Voice of Democracy Certificate of Merit 2017.
Cole noted that Wyman had attended the Global Peace Conference in Cali, Columbia and was selected by LOLHS History teachers to attend the 2018 Connecticut Boys’ State Conference.
Mentioning that Wyman volunteers at a Soup Kitchen and is an accomplished musician, Cole commented that Wyman is passionate about history and has a unique vision of how it applies to his future plans and goals.
Wyman, who will attend Oberlin College in the fall, is interested in issues of social justice, is considering joining the Peace Corps, Amnesty International, or Human Rights Watch in the future.
Similarly, Cole noted that Audrey Berry gave, “exemplary responses in her application and superior references,” and had “Many noteworthy awards and accomplishments.” She is a three-year member of the LOLHS Local History Club and served as its president this year. She received the following LOLHS Awards for Excellence: Civics and Law, Roots of Democracy, Advanced Placement (AP) European History, and AP US History.
Berry was a Rotary Student of the Month in Social Studies and volunteered for a year in OLHSI archives. She also wrote an article about Emily Sophie Brown, which was published in the CT Explored magazine’s Women’s Suffrage issue titled, “One of the First Five.”
Cole noted that Berry, who will attend UConn in the fall, plans on pursuing a career in historical research and writing.