Collins receives Legends scholarship

The Northern Region of Maine Sports Legends selected its Scholar/Athletes for 2014, who will receive a $1,000 scholarship at the annual banquet at the Alfond Girls and Boys Club Oct. 12.
A large number of excellent applicants were received from all over Aroostook County. Eight scholarships will be given out from each region of Maine and the Northern Region has announced that Clara Collins of Caribou High School and Nicholas LaJoie from Van Buren District Secondary School are this year’s recipients.
Collins graduated from Caribou High School as salutatorian. The daughter of Sam and Lise Collins participated in varsity soccer, varsity basketball and varsity tennis. She was captain of the soccer team her senior year and was a Penobscot Valley Conference scholar-athlete selection and a PVC all-academic soccer team member.
Collins was a member of the National Honor Society and was an executive council member her senior year. She was co-chair of the NHS induction banquet and co-chaired her school’s academic awards night.  She was on the Student Council four years and served as vice president her sophomore and junior years and president her senior year.
She was a member of the CHS concert and jazz band for four years, placed sixth statewide on the National French Exam and won the Junior English Award. She also received the Maine Principals’ Association Principals’ Award.
In the community, Collins volunteered at soccer clinics and was a teacher’s helper. She will attend Northeastern University in Boston this fall.
LaJoie graduated from Van Buren District Secondary School as valedictorian. The son of Dominic and Rachel LaJoie participated in varsity soccer, varsity basketball and varsity baseball and was captain of Crusaders’ soccer and basketball teams his senior year.
He was an Aroostook League Scholar Athlete, was class president, a Student Senate member and belonged to the National Honor Society and was the chapter president. LaJoie was a pep band member and made All-Aroostook for three years.
He was active throughout high school in Youth Ministry.
LaJoie received the MPA Principals’ Award and the Phi Beta Kappa Award and was a Voice of Democracy regional winner in 2012.
He will attend the University of Maine at Orono in the College of Engineering, where he received the Presidential Scholarship and has been invited to enter the university’s Honors College in the fall.