Susan Fund Annual Awards Reception

The Susan Fund had its annual awards ceremony on Sunday, June 25, at Westfield Court in Stamford for 31 scholarship recipients, their families and friends. The fund, now in its 19th year, awarded a total of $52,500 to these Fairfield County residents who are now attending college and graduate schools, and who have courageously faced a diagnosis of cancer.

Four recipients were selected from the Newtown area: Jessica Adams, Shelly Alford, Melissa Beard, and Vivecka Burr, all of Newtown, and Alison Hills of Sandy Hook.

Jessica is a first time recipient and a freshman at New England College. She graduated from Newtown High and was a counselor at The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp and an intern at the Danbury Hospital Rehab Center this past summer. Jessica plans for a career in exercise and education. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of eight and treatments caused some learning disabilities which Jessica has worked hard to overcome.

Shelly Alford will complete her undergraduate work at Western Connecticut, where she is on the Dean’s List with a 3.7 GPA, in 2001. She works as a recreational specialist at Green Chimneys Residential Center for special youths. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 1995 and is in remission. Shelly plans on teaching at the elementary level and studying for a masters in physical education.

Melissa Beard is a junior at Western Connecticut State and is now majoring in business management with the goal to open her own flower shop. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease when she was nine and is in remission. Injured in an auto accident last fall, Melissa is still undergoing intensive physical therapy but had planned on being a counselor at The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp this past summer.

Vivecka Burr is attending Sacred Heart University while working as an LPN at Cornerstone Eagle Hill in its detox and rehab facility. She will complete her undergraduate work in 2001 and plans to pursue a graduate degree and work as a psychotherapist. She has had a recent recurrence of breast cancer but feels well and is highly motivated to go on with her career plan for life. She enjoys reading, music, and likes to play basketball.

Alison Hills will graduate from the University of Connecticut this December with a degree in visual communication and graphic design. She plans to start classes at the Fashion Institute in 2001. Alison is interested in fashion design as well as fashion photography. She was diagnosed with kidney cancer when she was ten. This is her 4th Susan Fund Scholarship.

Established in 1982, the Susan Fund, Inc., honors the memory of Susan Davis Lloyd, a Westport teenager who succumbed to cancer before realizing her dream of attending Colgate University. Since its inception, the fund has awarded more than $500,000. Recipients are recognized for their courage, community involvement, and scholastic achievement. This year’s recipients represented 13 towns in Fairfield County.