MALDEN, MASS. (WHDH) - A typical celebration for Malden high schoolers was interrupted Wednesday night when the mayor pulled off the ultimate surprise.
Little did the crowd know that the last scholarship of the night would not be going to just one special senior, but to all of them.
“So this $1,000 scholarship will go to every single Malden graduating senior going on to attend college,” said Mayor Gary Christenson.
Christenson said the money — which adds up to about $450,000 — came from leftover funding awarded through the American Rescue Plan Act.
“It was for anything COVID-related,” said Christenson. “Once we knew that we had a pool of funds that had yet to be committed, this is what our team thought made the most sense to do with it.”
The money going to help a class of students that have lived and learned through the weight of a global pandemic.
“This is something we wanted to do to thank them for hanging in there with us,” said the mayor.
For seniors still feeling the shock of it all today, they said the money will go a long way toward writing their next chapter.
“I just would like to thank the mayor. I, myself, I don’t really come from a high-income household, so paying for college is probably one of the hardest things to do,” said senior Cyril Jeremie, who will be heading to UMass Lowell. “Any amount of money is helpful.”
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