Huntington- Twenty-one seniors from Gateway Regional High School have received a John and Abigail Adams Scholarship, which offers four years of free tuition to 26 Massachusetts public universities and colleges. 

The scholarships are awarded to students who score in the top 25% for their district on the MCAS exam, and by scoring Advanced in English Language Arts or Mathematics, and Advanced or Proficient in all other subject areas on the grade 10 MCAS assessment.

Gateway seniors who qualified are:  Christopher Beaulieu, Lee Anne Buikus, Jason Ellershaw, Gregory Foster, Jennifer Guay, Erika Howe, Erin Judge, Brandy Kellogg, Jason Lariviere, Stacia Meczywor, Justin Pinard, John Pommenville Jr., Colin Powers, Ariana Rizzitano, Kathleen Ryan, Anne Skerry, Jenna Swotchak, Jonathan Tosi Cummings, Corrie Vancour, Danielle Wojcik and Andrea Ziter.

These students will receive a tuition waiver to state colleges and universities for 8 consecutive semesters.  Recipients who opt to attend a public college or university in Massachusetts must begin using the waiver in the fall of 2007.  The waiver remains in effect as long as the student maintains a college GPA of 3.0 or better.

This is the third year that Massachusetts has offered the scholarship. Last year, 29 Gateway seniors qualified.

Goals of the scholarship program are to reward and inspire student achievement, help attract more high-performing students to Massachusetts public higher education institutions, and to provide families of college-bound students with non-need based financial assistance. Tuition at area public colleges ranges from $576 per year at Holyoke Community College to $1,704 per year at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.