The Darien Board of REALTORS is proud to announce that five local recipients were among the 62 selected:
John Gatt is in his final year at the University of Florida and is majoring in economics. After graduation he plans on attending law school to become a corporate lawyer working in either real estate litigation or intellectual property law. While he was in high school, he led his class in several fundraising activities and was a leader in several clubs including B Kind and Unified Sports. John is the son of REALTOR® Meghan Gatt of William Raveis.
Beau Hancock graduated from Darien High School this year and will attend Washington and Lee University in the fall. In high school, Beau excelled at football, playing varsity for three of his four years. His team won the State Championship his senior year. In light of the pandemic, Beau has played an integral part in helping to give his community access to area events via video by being a cameraman and director. In 2020, he was awarded the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Student Excellence Award. Beau is the son of REALTOR® Julia Hancock of Houlihan Lawrence.
Stella Meier graduated from Darien High School in June. In the fall, she will attend Brigham Young University where she plans to major in molecular biology with a minor in women's studies. Last year, Stella attended the Yale Discovery to Cure medical conference where she learned that infertility issues are often a side effect of current gynecologic cancer treatments. She was also an intern at Weber Lab at Brigham Young University where she helped to create an antibody-mediated therapy against HPRT, a cancer antigen. Eventually, Stella wants to combine her passion for cancer treatments and the female reproductive system by pursuing a career in gynecological oncology. Stella is the daughter of REALTOR® Darleen Meier of Houlihan Lawrence.
Alexandra Spataro is a 2022 graduate of Darien High School and in the fall will pursue a degree in education with a minor in history at Gettysburg College. With plans to become a high school history teacher, Alexandra wants to pursue a Master’s degree after college. She was the captain of her school’s varsity swim team and plans to continue to swim while in college. In addition to being a competitive year-round swimmer at Chelsea Piers where she also teaches swim lessons, Alexandra is in four national honor societies and is a CT Scholar Athlete. Alexandra is the daughter of REALTOR® Lauren Spataro of Houlihan Lawrence.
The Foundation is pleased to highlight scholarships that are being awarded in honor of CT REALTORS® Past Presidents who have recently passed away. Lily Donzeiser has been selected to receive this year’s tribute scholarship in memory of Larry Story, 1996 CTR Past President from the New Canaan Board of REALTORS®.
Lily Donzeiser is a 2022 graduate of Darien High School. In the fall, she will attend the University of California, Berkeley where she plans to major in environmental sciences. Earlier this year, she took 4th place at the Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at UConn Health and was a presenter at the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in New Mexico. While her plan is to eventually earn a PhD, she hopes to become a scientific researcher or focus more on renewable energies. Lily is the daughter of REALTOR® Michelle Donzeiser of Compass.
