About Us

our foundation

Through its donors, our foundation supports the continuing memory and legacy of John S. McConnell, a pioneer in technology education, who passed away in May 2015.

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About Us

our foundation

Through its donors, our foundation supports the continuing memory and legacy of John S. McConnell, a pioneer in technology education, who passed away in May 2015.

John McConnell taught a variety of industrial arts classes to high school students for over three decades. During his career at both Butler High School and Wallkill Valley Regional High School in northern New Jersey, John made it his mission to equip his students with the cutting edge technology needed to keep up with the rapidly changing discipline of architectural design. Students in his computer-aided drafting (CAD) and other related technology classes enjoyed an advantage over their peers who were either entering the field immediately out of high school or continuing their studies in colleges, trade schools or other post-secondary studies. John's tireless efforts brought thousands of dollars in grant money to the school districts in which he worked and enabled constant evolution of his computer-focused classroom learning environment as a result.

In honor of John's memory, his family has formed this foundation to continue his mission through an annual scholarship to be awarded to a graduating senior at Wallkill Valley Regional High School.

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Scholarship

scholarship

Our scholarship is awarded to a student who has been accepted to a program at a 2 or 4 year college, university or an accredited technical school with plans to study technology education, engineering, building or construction trades, computer aided drafting, architecture or related disciplines. Regardless of a student's cumulative GPA, applicants must have excelled in classes within the Industrial Arts department. The student should have a selfless attitude and enjoy helping others. Special consideration will be given to students who also demonstrate financial need.

Scholarship

scholarship

Our scholarship is awarded to a student who has been accepted to a program at a 2 or 4 year college, university or an accredited technical school with plans to study technology education, engineering, building or construction trades, computer aided drafting, architecture or related disciplines. Regardless of a student's cumulative GPA, applicants must have excelled in classes within the Industrial Arts department. The student should have a selfless attitude and enjoy helping others. Special consideration will be given to students who also demonstrate financial need.

A complete list of local scholarships can be found in the Scholarship section of the Wallkill Valley Regional High School website. If you're interested in applying for the John S. McConnell Memorial Scholarship and meet the eligibility requirements above, please see your guidance counselor to receive an application.

The scholarship recipient is selected by a committee of teachers and faculty members at Wallkill using the criteria provided by our foundation. The award amount may vary from year to year depending on how many donations we receive.

This scholarship is funded entirely by donations from our friends and family. We are always accepting donations and hope to fund this program for many years to come. Your donations are tax deductible as our organization is a tax-exempt charity under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

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News

2021 scholarship recipient

Congratulations to our sixth annual scholarship recipient, LUKE OWENS. Luke graduated from WVRHS on June 14, 2021 and was awarded our $2,000 scholarship during the graduation ceremony. We wish him all the best next year at Clarkson University where he’ll study Mechanical Engineering.

2019 scholarship recipient

Congratulations to our fourth annual scholarship recipient, PETER EGAN. On June 11, 2019, Peter was awarded a $2,000 scholarship and we wish all the best in his upcoming school year.

2018 scholarship recipient

Congratulations to our third annual scholarship recipient, THOMAS HAZEN. He was awarded a $2,000 scholarship at the annual awards ceremony held at Wallkill. Best of luck with your studies!

2017 scholarship recipient

Congratulations to our second annual scholarship recipient, IAN HOUTMAN. We were proud to award a $2,000 scholarship to Ian at the awards ceremony at Wallkill and wish Mr. Houtman all the best in his future endeavors!

2016 scholarship recipient

Congratulations to our inaugural scholarship recipient, CARMINE MARCHIONDA. Carmine graduated from Wallkill Valley Regional High School in June 2016 and will be attending Stevens Institute of Technology this fall where he will study Engineering/Management. We were proud to award a $2,000 scholarship to Carmine at the awards ceremony at Wallkill and wish Mr. Marchionda all the best in his future endeavors!