Sandstone Society gives scholarship to history-minded student
Provided photo
MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Society presented a $500 scholarship to Madeline Winters, who was selected as the Outstanding John Ryan Scholar.
Pictured, from left, include: John Ryan Scholarship review committee members Steve Bunch and Mary Zangerle, Madeline Winters, Sandstone Society Vice President David Miller, and committee member Sue Holland.
The John Ryan Scholarship program was started three years ago by the Sandstone Society with cooperation from the Medina High School History Department, under the direction of teacher Todd Bensley.
In addition to the scholarship, students are inducted into this program and have their names inscribed permanently on a wall in the hallway of the History Department. They also have a special designation recorded on their High School diploma.
The overall purpose of the John Ryan Scholar’s program is to instill a love of history in high school students, urging them to find out about and become involved in the community in which they live.
The scholarship is named in honor of John Ryan, who opened the first commercial quarry in Medina in 1837, quarrying the famous Medina Sandstone.
