2 Tewksbury Memorial High Students Named Hats Off Winners For March

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury Memorial High School seniors Rebecca Kelleher and Harshit Pal have been named the Tewksbury Rotary Club Hats Off Award winners for March.

The Hats Off Award, a joint initiative between the Tewksbury Rotary Club and TMHS, recognizes students who have distinguished themselves academically, have contributed to co-curricular programs at the high school and have been involved in the community. Students are nominated by TMHS faculty.

Kelleher and Pal will be honored at a March 23 ceremony.

Kelleher is a John and Abigail Adams Scholarship winner, Gold Card recipient and member of the National Honor Society. She has been involved in DECA, Peer Mentoring and Captains Council.

A member of the field hockey team, Kelleher's community service has included being a One Wish Project volunteer, a volunteer coach for Tewksbury Field Hockey, a 4th-grade tutor, and a vaccine clinic volunteer.

Kelleher plans to attend UMass Lowell and study nursing. She also will be part of the Honors Program in college.

After college, Kelleher hopes to work as a pediatric nurse and eventually would like to become a nurse practitioner treating children.

"Becca truly cares for how others feel, especially her family. She talks so highly about her sisters, and she works hard to be a great role model for them," said Mackenzie Leggeri, the TMHS faculty member who nominated Kelleher.

Leggeri continued: "Becca has great organization, time management and critical thinking skills. This is going to help her succeed in nursing school. With her great attitude and determination, Becca is going to grow into such an amazing nurse. If I am ever in need of care in life, I would want Becca to take care of me."

Pal is the president of the Class of 2023 and a member of the Honor Roll and Principal's List. He is the student representative for the Tewksbury Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Committee, was a member of Peer Mentoring and was the student representative on the Tewksbury Superintendent Search Committee.

Pal also is a a member of Mock Trials and DECA, becoming a state champion in the latter and qualifying for the international DECA Conference in Orlando, Florida.

A three-year member of the TMHS football team, Pal's community service includes volunteering at the Tewksbury Public Library and the Lahey Clinic.

Next year, Pal plans to attend Tuft University — where he has earned a full scholarship — and major in political science, while minoring in finance. He hopes to pursue a career in law or business.

"Harshit is our senior class president. He has done a tremendous job as a leader at this school spending countless time trying to provide for his class and his school to ensure everyone's high school experience is the best," said Joel Mignault, the TMHS faculty member who nominated Pal.

Mignault continued: "On top of that, Harshit takes several AP courses, is a varsity football player and volunteers his time in the community, specifically at Tewksbury Public Library. Harshit's classmates look up to him, he is extremely respected by his teachers, and his maturity is much more than your average high school senior. He is a unique young man, and we are fortunate to have him."