9-08-2022 12:31am

Xaverian Brothers High School Graduate Wins Environmental Scholarship

Darlene Cancell Editor

Photo courtesy of Henry David Thoreau Foundation. Michael Parent is a graduate of Xavarian Brothers and recipient of the Henry David Thoreau Scholarship, given to only eight students in Massachusetts each year.

Thanks to the Henry David Thoreau Foundation for contributing this news to Westwood Minute.

Michael A. Parent, a Waltham resident and graduate of Westwood's Xaverian Brothers High School, will be entering college this autumn as a Thoreau Scholar who has been awarded a $26,000 scholarship to study a subject related to the environment. The Henry David Thoreau Scholarship, named for the 19th-century naturalist and author Henry David Thoreau, is a prestigious award given annually to only eight Massachusetts high school seniors.

The son of Lori and Keith Parent, Michael credits his environmental science teacher Mr. T. J. Manning for encouraging his students to explore their interests. With the support of Mr. Ryan Howard, a teacher in Xaverian's X-Ploration Center, Michael built an aquaponic system. The aquaponic system involved growing plants and raising fish with the help of beneficial bacteria to learn about loop systems and sustainable food production. Finding the Mother Tree by forest ecologist Suzanne Simard was another source of inspiration to Michael. He would like to follow her example on overcoming obstacles and sustaining the environment.

This fall, Michael will be a student at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana where he intends to major in Environmental Science.

The Henry David Thoreau Scholarship is a four-year tuition scholarship awarded to eight students graduating from high schools in Massachusetts. High school seniors awarded the Thoreau Scholarship can enroll in any college and university in the world while they major or minor in an environmentally-related field. Thoreau Scholars are encouraged to enroll in internships or study abroad to broaden their awareness and understanding of environmental issues.

The Thoreau Foundation further assists its scholarship winners by identifying environmentally-related internships, offering internship stipends, and providing networking opportunities. A sign of success of the Thoreau Foundation’s mission to foster environmental leadership is the support past scholarship winners provide to present scholarship winners.

To learn more about the Henry David Thoreau Foundation and the Thoreau Scholarship, please visit thoreauscholar.org. Scholarship applications open October 15 with a February 1 deadline.

Updated 9/9/2022 at 12:51 p.m. Clarification has been added that it was Mr. Ryan Howard who supported Michael Parent's construction of an aquaponic system. Also, the last name of the author of Finding the Mother Tree has been corrected from "Smith" to "Simard."