Woodbridge High School senior wins Marisa Tufaro Memorial service scholarship
Samantha Ayers doesn’t remember which teacher made the nomination that changed her life. But she’s grateful for it.
A few years ago, battling depression and anxiety, Ayers joined the Woodbridge chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide.
“It’s been one of the most fulfilling things in the world,” she said. “I was able to realize that what I was feeling wasn’t personal – it was something a lot of people have dealt with.”
Over the past couple of years she’s taken on a leadership role within the nonprofit mental-health service, spreading awareness among peers at Woodbridge High School and beyond – and holding the hands of those struggling if necessary.
“It’s time to give back after all that’s been given to me,” Ayers said.
Her work with the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide is the most salient example of Ayers’ devotion to community service, but it’s far from the only one. She’s volunteered for 3,600 hours, an astounding total that includes work with Buddy Ball (sports with developmentally challenged youth), reading to kids at the Fords branch of the Woodbridge library, peer tutoring, fostering stray kittens, and helping found the Woodbridge Wellness Council – a school-based version of the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide.
“Samantha’s service activities are unparalleled,” said Joseph Sacco, a now-retired social studies teacher, in a letter of recommendation. “Her integrity, consideration, and good judgment have made her an asset to our school.”
It certainly made her an ideal fit as one of two recipients of the 2023 Marisa Tufaro Memorial Community Service Scholarship. The $1,000 awards are bestowed by the Marisa Tufaro Foundation, a nonprofit that assists pediatric patients and other children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
The foundation and scholarship’s namesake, Marisa Tufaro, was an Edison resident. Born with a complex cardiac defect that required six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant, she lived 13 inspirational years before succumbing in 2017 to a rare form of cancer following a valiant battle.
“Words cannot express how humbled I was (to learn of the award),” Ayers said. “To me, community service and volunteerism were never about the recognition, but about having the opportunity to give back to those around me. I am honored to represent all of the opportunities I have had thus far to make a change in so many lives; without them, I would not be here today, and for that, I would like to thank everyone who has made my journey as a volunteer possible.”
Ayers’ remarkable resume includes graduating ranked second in her class, playing saxophone in the school band, captaining Woodbridge High’s golf team, and acting in community theater.
“One of my proudest accomplishments would have to be my efforts in expanding mental health awareness across my school community, a topic I face daily in my own life,” she explained. It’s been her mission to “become a leader in sharing my own experiences, a compassionate listener of others, and a pioneer in discovering ways in which we could come together to understand that no one is alone, and that there truly is a light at the end of every tunnel.”
It's a light Ayers intends to shine at her next stop, the Honors College at Rutgers University. She is drawn to the college’s built-in community service components, which she will pair with a major in environmental science.
“The world as a whole is a beautiful place and has so many opportunities in it,” she said. “I want others to have a future that’s as bright as the one people have given me.”
For more information on the Marisa Tufaro Foundation, visit https://marisatufarofoundation.org.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Woodbridge HS senior wins Marisa Tufaro Memorial service scholarship
