Left to Right: Katy & Jason Carr with daughter Jillian Carr, York Hospital President & CEO Dr. Patrick Taylor & Bryce Gamache with parents Brenda & Jules Gamache, MD
The Carroll Family and Michael C. Rossiter Scholarship was created because Sylvester and Ruth Carroll believed in rewarding students who demonstrate strength of character, a strong will and sense of commitment. Each year York Hospital awards The Carroll Family and Michael C. Rossiter Scholarship to student volunteers who exhibit these traits in their daily interactions. The York Hospital Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce Jillian Carr and Bryce Gamache, both members of the York High School Class of 2022, as this year’s scholarship recipients.
Jillian (Jill) Carr has been volunteering with the Community Relations team since 2019. Her can-do attitude ensured the hospital’s “Guest Service Guides for Patients, Families and Visitors” were assembled quickly and accurately, and allowed the Med-Surg team to deliver them promptly to new inpatients. When hospitalizations surged during the pandemic, the team appreciated Jill’s help even more. Although volunteers were advised to remain safe at home, Jill continued to work on projects remotely.
In addition to her York Hospital activities, Jill participated in Band, Varsity Ice Hockey & Softball, Interact Club, and Seacoast Spartans Club Hockey for all four years of high school. She also maintained an uninterrupted tenure on the honor roll and membership in both the National & Spanish Honor Societies. Her volunteer work in the community included activities with senior residents of Sentry Hill at York Harbor and assisting teachers at Village Elementary School and staff at York Public Library. During her summer job as lead sailing instructor at Agamenticus Yacht Club, Jill created daily lesson plans, mentored young sailors, and even performed some hands-on repairs.
“We didn’t have a budget for new boats, so we created a plan to patch and resurface the boats using fiberglass. By the end of summer, a good portion of our boats were fixed, which gave me a boost of creativity and confidence, and the ability to teach others this skill as well,” Jill offered.
This fall, Jill will leave York for Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., where she will major in biomedical engineering. With a penchant for problem solving, design and STEM, Jill’s career goal is to be involved in “creating new devices and using technology to make people’s lives easier.”
Bryce Gamache has held various volunteer positions at York Hospital. In his first assignment, he assisted the orderlies in the Surgery Center. When COVID arrived, Bryce helped at the hospital’s multiple community testing and vaccination sites whenever possible. This past year, he was an integral member of the volunteer team, delivering food to inpatients.
“I have enjoyed delivering food trays to patients the most, as it allowed me to encounter many types of people, some talkative, some not; everyone deals with being hospitalized a bit differently,” said Bryce. The Dietary Team appreciated Bryce’s “diligence, punctuality, flexibility and willingness to help,” believing his work ethic will be key to his success.
Bryce also kept busy with both school and community activities, including four years as class vice-president, a member of Interact Club and Sober Friends, Boys Soccer & Hockey, and Future Business Leaders of America, where he earned a second-place win in the SIFMA Foundation’s The Stock Market Game for Maine students. Outside of school, Bryce participated in Boy Scouts, achieving Eagle Scout status his junior year; volunteered regularly at Table of Plenty and the YCSA Thrift Shop; and managed three hours of flight lessons each week during senior year. He currently boasts 21 flight hours toward his private pilot’s license. Which leads to Bryce’s choice of college program, and ultimate career goal: to become a commercial pilot. He will attend Gallatin College of Aviation at Montana State University, where he will also pursue a minor in Finance and Aviation Management.
Time will tell where paths (or flight plans) may lead these eager, forward thinking and hard-working students. In the meantime, York Hospital wishes them both clear skies and smooth sailing.
About the Carroll Family & Michael C. Rossiter Scholarship: This $3,000 scholarship is awarded annually to high school seniors planning to enter an institution of higher learning and currently residing in one of York Hospital’s service areas: Kittery, Eliot, The Berwicks, Kennebunk, Lebanon, Sanford, Wells, Moody, Ogunquit and York. All applicants must be active York Hospital volunteers and have provided a minimum of 50 hours of volunteer service. Recipients must explain how volunteering at York Hospital has made a difference in their lives and what they have learned through the experience.
For more information about volunteering at York Hospital and the Carroll Family & Michael C. Rossiter Scholarship, contact Director of Volunteer & Student Experiences, Kate Ford at [email protected] or 207-351-2224, or visit https://www.yorkhospital.com/volunteers-and-students/