After passing the Carry Forward Act 11-12 in early January that approved spending of $248,000 in surplus funds, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) wanted to use $25,000 from the surplus to create a leadership award. They were close to doing so until endowment operators disclosed that student activity revenue could not be used to fund scholarships.

Chancellor Keith Motley attended the meeting when the Carry Forward Act was passed, and was impressed by the plan. Administrators decided to fund the award since the Senate could not, and the USG re-budgeted the $25,000 they set aside.

Vanessa DiCarlo, Director of Stewardship at UMass Boston, believes the administration decided to fund the scholarship because “it incentivizes student leadership and rewards students who have taken on responsibilities beyond their duties in the classroom.”

The Michael Ventresca ’69 Student Leadership Award is available to registered undergraduate students with at least a 3.0 GPA. The application details the benefits of receiving the award, which “bestows $1,000 [annually] to an undergraduate student who has exemplified on-campus leadership that has directly benefited the undergraduate student body.”

Eligible students must have at least 30 credits, a “strong record of on-campus leadership” and provide a letter of recommendation from a UMass Boston faculty or staff member.

Business major Marc Antoine works in the Office of Student Leadership and Community Engagement, and he believes the scholarship will prove to be a “great way to encourage student involvement.”

Students can find applications on the Campus Center fourth floor in the merit scholarship office. Students can also get an application from the USG office located on the second floor of the Campus Center. The application deadline is March 6.

The award is named after UMass Boston’s first USG president, Michael Ventresca. According to the application, “[Ventresca’s] example of local service and passion for education brings our organization and this award an added level of prestige for which we are extremely grateful.”

The Alumni Association of UMass Boston gave the money for this year’s award. “The Alumni Association serves and supports our university through their leadership and service,” DiCarlo said, “and its members see the value of recognizing students who do the same.”

The winner of the award is determined in the fall and receives the award in the spring at an awards dinner hosted by the USG and the Office of Alumni Relations each April.