SCHENECTADY – Five recipients will be honored with scholarships at a Shabbat service on Friday, June 7, at 7 p.m., at Gates of Heaven. Each recipient will receive a $1,000.00 scholarship toward his or her college education.

The 2024 Rena Weifenbach College Scholarship will be given to Rebecca Schechter. Schechter will enter her junior year at Wesleyan University in the fall, where she double-majors in physics and mathematics. She enjoys rowing on the Wesleyan team. She is also a member of the physics society and Women in STEM clubs at Wesleyan, where she helps promote inclusion for women in sciences. Schechter plans to continue her studies and attain a doctorate in physics, eventually teaching physics at the college level while conducting her own research.

Four students will receive a $1000 scholarship each to their respective colleges and universities from the Marwill College Scholarship Fund. They are Alyson Brown, Olivia Kaye, Wendy Pearlman, and Luke Teter.

Alyson Brown will enter her junior year at Ithaca College in the fall, majoring in clinical health studies. Her reported goal is to attain a doctorate in physical therapy with a focus on pediatrics. She participates in leadership academy at Ithaca and is on the women’s soccer team. She intends to supplement her education with an internship in physical therapy work to further develop her experience before beginning her career.

Olivia Kaye will be a senior at SUNY Fredonia this fall, where she studies theater production and design, with a focus in stage management and technical direction. She is a member of the Fredonia Performing Arts Company and the Fredonia chapter of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology. She hosts High Holy Day service watch parties fro at school, for Jewish peers who could not travel home for the holidays.

Wendy Pearlman will be a junior at the University at Buffalo, SUNY, in the fall, where she studies nutrition sciences, intending to attain a master’s degree at Buffalo’s School of Public Health and Health Sciences Clinical Nutrition program and become a registered dietician. Pearlman reports that she found her passion for nutrition sciences following a personal medical experience that led her to seek the services of a nutritionist and learn about the effects of nutrition on the body. She is also a volunteer at the Captain Food Pantry in Clifton Park.

Luke Teter majors in elementary education at SUNY Oswego, where he will begin his junior year this fall. The son of two teachers, Teter’s interest in education and reading began early in his life, with experience at the Gates of Heaven supplemental school Gates Quest, as a madrikh (high school aide) and an internship at Schenectady Day Nursery. His passion for lifelong learning is supported by his participation in the Delta Kappa Kappa fraternity at Oswego, where he has served as academic chairman, fund-raising chairman, Inter-Fraternal Council chairman, and volunteer for fund-raising and support of the organization “For the Kids” in the local community.

Rena Weifenbach

Rena Weifenbach a devoted student of Judaism. She emphasized the study of Torah and, at an advanced age, mastered the chanting of Torah. Weifenbach knew that knowledge was central to personal fulfillment, making better Jews, better citizens, and that it made individuals more valuable to families and communities.

Ralph and Edna Marwill

Dr. Ralph Marwill was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Dental School and Columbia University. Edna Marwill was a civic and Jewish community leader with a wide variety of interests, including work on the City of Schenectady Board of Education, the Schenectady Day Nursery, and the Freedom Forum, which promoted interest in civic and educational topics. The forum brought lecturers to Schenectady and spread factual information and helped individuals discover truths concerning issues about which there are two or more points of view.