Grace Mortensen and Wyatt Foley, two recent graduates of Marblehead High School’s class of 2024, are the recipients of this year’s Sterny’s Way Scholarships. These $1,500 scholarships are given annually in memory of David Stern, a former Marblehead youth sports coaching legend and supporter of the arts. Sterny passed away in 2009.
Mortensen excelled in the classroom, on the athletic fields and within the community during her four years at Marblehead High. A member of the Spanish Honors Society, National Honors Society and Math Honors Society, Mortensen graduated in the top 10 percent of her class, earning the Smith College Award.
Passionate about sports, Mortensen was a four-year member of the girls’ varsity indoor and outdoor track teams and a three-year member of the girls’ varsity soccer team. As a senior, she demonstrated her leadership as a captain of all three teams.
At MHS, Mortensen devoted a great deal of time to special education organizations and other important causes. A four-year member of the Best Buddies Club, she was selected as a Board member during her senior year. She volunteered with North Shore Rovers, an inclusive soccer program. Through this club, Mortensen mentored and coached a young girl with autism weekly for all four years of high school. As a member of MHS’s Unified Basketball Team, Mortensen participated with athletes with special needs and other volunteers while competing against other schools.
Mortensen has been a member of Marblehead High’s National Green School Society since her sophomore year. This club focuses on making the high school and the Marblehead community more eco-friendly through composting and recycling.
Mortensen has worked as a lifeguard at The Beach Club in Swampscott and at the Lynch Van Otterloo YMCA. She will attend the University of Florida in Gainesville this fall and plans to major in biomedical engineering and minor in Spanish.
Foley is an accomplished filmmaker, musician and athlete. He also had an impressive Marblehead High School career, participating in several school clubs and activities while also finding time to give back to the community.
Foley was a four-year member of the MHS Film Club and three-year member of the National Art Honor Society, serving as president in his senior year. Wyatt was a leader in the Core 4 Peer Mentoring Program at MHS, helping freshmen acclimate to the high school.
The son of a filmmaker, Wyatt aspires to pursue filmmaking himself. Wyatt wrote and directed a 30-minute movie called “Currently a Paperboy.” In December, it premiered at The Warwick Cinema in Marblehead to six sold-out shows and was entered into numerous film festivals.
A passionate advocate for educating others about the impacts of climate change, Foley received the first prize, the Climate Change Screenwriting Award, in the International High School Screenwriting Contest.
To support the community, Foley participated in the Marblehead Food Pantry Thanksgiving Food Drive, the Feeding America Fundraiser, and he served as Camera Manager for Streaming Events at the Winter Concert and the Senior-Teen Movie Club at the COA.
Foley was the catcher for the boys’ varsity baseball team this spring. He also participated in the Marblehead Youth Baseball program.
He is the bassist for the rock band Whambone, which has performed locally. Foley has worked as an instructor at SUP East Coast Style and a fuel dock attendant at the Boston Yacht Club.
Foley, who attended a summer pre-college program at Suffolk University, will attend Wesleyan University this fall. He will major in Film Studies with a minor in Art History, while immersing himself in music, history, psychology and literature.
Sterny’s Way, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The Sterny’s Way Board greatly appreciates the community’s continued support to help fund the annual scholarships of $1,500 to a MHS graduate who has shown dedication to the Arts (music, dance, fine arts, etc.) and a MHS graduate who participated in Marblehead Youth Softball or Marblehead Youth Baseball.
The Sterny’s Way Board would like to recognize the invaluable contributions of Board member Todd Norman, who passed away suddenly this spring. Todd put his heart-and-soul into Sterny’s Way, as he did with everything he loved.