Jump to Footer

Alumni Gift Benefits SUNY Plattsburgh Students from Granville High School


Two sisters have been named among this year’s Paula and Michael Freed Scholarship recipients.

Stephanie and Jennifer Boutin of Middle Granville, N.Y., were both grateful to receive the scholarship — a gift from Paula and Michael Freed, given through the Plattsburgh College Foundation.

The Paula and Michael Freed Scholarship awards a total of $10,000 annually to Granville Central Junior/Senior High School graduates who are attending SUNY Plattsburgh, much as Paula and Michael once did. The two Granville natives graduated from the college 1980 and 1979 respectively. To qualify for the awards, students must demonstrate financial need and academic merit.

In addition to the Boutins, six other Granville alumni will benefit from the scholarship next year: Kaeli Entrup of South Glens Falls, N.Y.; Tyler Guest, Krystle Morey, Anna Rogoza and Bria Terrio of Granville, N.Y.; and James Park of Wells, Vt.

“Given the economy, we just felt that this was the best way we could continue to reinvest in our hometown and, at the same time, help to make education affordable at a school that we believe in,” said Michael, now the chief financial officer of Spectrum Health.

The Boutin sisters say the scholarships mean a lot to them.

“They are a big financial help to my family,” said Stephanie, who will be a freshman entering Plattsburgh’s combined Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science program in history and adolescence education this fall.

“Now I know that I have the money to put toward books and to start saving for the second semester,” said Jennifer, a transfer student from SUNY Adirondack who will enter the combined B.A./M.S.T. program for childhood education.

The two had fond memories of visiting the college as children.

“Our mother went to Plattsburgh, and we visited there as children, and we both loved it,” Stephanie said. “Also, we’re both going into education, and we knew it was a great place for education.”

Both were drawn by the opportunity to work on both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the same time through the combined programs. They also liked the fact that the programs featured early field placements, so that they could find out right away whether or not they had made the right career choices.

In giving the scholarship, Michael and Paula hope to encourage other SUNY Plattsburgh/Granville graduates to consider doing likewise.

This is something that both sisters can see themselves doing in the future.

“Because someone from my area did this for Granville students, I could definitely see myself trying to do something like it for others from the area,” Jennifer said.

Back to top