Newtown Parent Connection Executive Director Nicole Hampton, Newtown Parent Connection Founder and former Executive Director of Dorrie Carolan, and members of the Rodbell family, presented the Thomas P. Rodbell scholarship to Newtown High School senior Alexandra Pettengill on Wednesday, June 4.

The $5,000 scholarship rewards someone whose life has been affected by addiction, recognizing their "remarkable perseverance, strength, and quiet courage in overcoming adversity and striving toward a brighter future." Those rewarded with the scholarship will also volunteer for 25 hours at Newtown Parent Connection.

Pettengill is one of two students Newtown Parent Connection awarded the Thomas P. Rodbell scholarship to this year. The other student was Easton High School sophomore Sofia Mendes, whose mother works as a counselor at NHS.

The scholarship is named in honor of Kathleen Moonan and Kenneth Rodbell's late son, Thomas, who passed away in August of 2021, age 34.

Moonan and Kenneth, along with their daughter Elizabeth and other members of the Rodbell family, helped present the scholarship to Pettengill early Wednesday morning. They also personally gifted her a card and a bouquet of flowers.

"I'm so honored to meet you and to be able to give this to you today," Moonan said as she fought back tears.

The family proceeded to tell Pettengill about Thomas, affectionately known as "Tommy" to his family.

Kenneth described Tommy as "never happy in his own skin," adding that his struggles with Crohn's disease and fitting in with others lead him to start drugging.

A recommendation from one of their youngest son's babysitters led Moonan to Newtown Parent Connection, a nonprofit organization that provides resources for individuals and families affected by substance use disorder.

At first, Kenneth would give her notes with questions to ask Carolan before he left for work in the mornings. They asked for advice over and over again because, as Kenneth said, "we didn't know what we were doing."

He continued, "We didn't know that we needed to take phones away and not have a car. We couldn't enable him to do all kinds of things because, with an addict, the money just disappears."

Kenneth said he was told, in no uncertain terms, "no more questions through [Moonan], you have to start coming." This marked the start of Moonan and Kenneth going to Newtown Parent Connection together, where they grew to better understand addiction and how to help their son.

Tommy was a great success after what Kenneth described as "10 years of hell," in which Tommy was sent to, and flunked out of, multiple rehabs. It got bad enough to the point they cut off all contact with Tommy for several years.

Kenneth said Tommy eventually got sober around 10 years before he passed and was working an insurance company down on the coast. However, the long-term effect of heroin and alcohol abuse took a toll on Tommy's body, particularly on his heart.

A few weeks before he passed, Tommy and Kenneth were hiking in New Hampshire when he told his dad how his heart was racing. Kenneth said that Tommy never went to the doctors and or got anything to take care of it, and died of a massive heart attack.

After Tommy's passing, Moonan and Kenneth got a lot of money donated to Newtown Parent Connection in his honor. They had not done much for it since then because, as Kenneth said, they "weren't quite ready to do so."

He continued, "In any case, we wanted to start this award, and you're the first recipient."

Moonan said they all believe Pettengill has a wonderful road ahead of her, adding that she may have had a lot of adversity along the way, but that there are so many positives for her to come.

"So many of the words you used are words that we would have used to describe Tommy," Moonan said. "So you're our first, and we're very proud to be here and to be able to share this with you."

Several people in the room shared memories with Tommy, such as how he would go to meetings at Newtown Parent Connection and talk about his experience with drug and alcohol abuse and journey to sobriety.

Kenneth talked about Tommy's love of food and what a good chef he was. He said the family loved when Tommy came by the house, adding that Tommy could look in the refrigerator, go, "Oh, I can make this," and whip up a a meal for everybody.

Carolan also spoke about Tommy, as she grew to know him so well over the years that Moonan said it was as if he had "two moms." In that time, Carolan and Moonan also became best friends, and the Rodbell's daughter married Carolan's son.

Hampton said that the scholarship not only honors Tommy, but also supports the mission of Newtown Parent Connection.

"We not only hope that it supports your education going forward, but also supports you in a pathway of healing and hope," Hampton said to Pettengill.

To learn more about Newtown Parent Connection, visit ctparentconnection.org.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.