Ciara McCullagh, a graduate of New Hyde Park Memorial High School last month, is one of 10 students in New York State to win a Firemen’s Association of the State of New York Volunteer Scholarship.
FASNY Board Director Michael Reid presented the award to Ciara at the New Hyde Park Fire Department on June 16. She received a certificate as well as a check for $1,000 for her volunteer service in the community.
McCullagh was a member of Students Putting an End to Cancer at New Hyde Park Memorial and had done volunteer work at Ronald McDonald House through that group since her sophomore year in high school. Her father, Frank McCullagh, has been a member of the New Hyde Park Fire Department’s Hook and Ladder Company 175 over the past decade.
The FASNY scholarships are awarded to members of volunteer fire departments or to members of their families who do volunteer work in their local communities. This year, 130 students applied for the FASNY scholarships statewide.
This marks the second consecutive year that a New Hyde Park Memorial High School graduate won a FASNY scholarship.
Last year, Andrew Carrick, whose father is also a volunteer in the New Hyde Park Fire Department, was recognized for his volunteer work in the community with the scholarship award.
Carrick is currently attending Providence College in Maryland.
“Both of them excelled in school, both of them came from firefighting families and both looked to give back to the community,” said Michael Reid, a FASNY board member. “Our hope is that these are going to be our new leaders and it‘s a way of recognizing their parents for instilling those values in their children.”
McCullagh’s five-year-old cousin died from cancer when she was in fifth grade, which she said sparked her interest in joining the student group in her high school and doing service at Ronald McDonald House. She said her father work as a volunteer firefighter was an early inspiration to her.
“That influenced me to try and make a difference in the community as well,” McCullagh said.
She first became involved in volunteer work through clothing drives or soup kitchens through the Girl Scouts since she was younger. She and her family are also members of the Holy Spirit Church parish, which she said also prompted her interest in doing volunteer work.
McCullagh was vice president of the student council and had held various leadership positions in the high school’s Key Club, an extension of the local Kiwanis Club. The Key Club annually runs a toy drive at holiday time and gives assistance to local families in need.
Last year, the Key Club also raised money for families in the Appalachia region of West Virginia.
“I think that young people are sometimes intimidated and think they can’t make a difference. I think that we can make change and that we’re very capable of making a difference,” she said.
McCullagh will be attending Johns Hopkins University in the fall, and said she is considering a career in the medical field.
