Scholarship Report

Amelia Rietz has always been fascinated by the mystery of the universe and is driven by a passion for technological innovation. In the third grade, her curiosity was sparked as she learned about planets, stars, and galaxies, and she became drawn to the science of space. She would visit the Boston Museum of Science and sit under the planetarium dome, watch documentaries about satellites and spacecrafts, and attend STEM summer camps to build model rockets. These early experiences fueled her passion for this science and led her to explore this field and its possible careers. In the future, she aspires to work in the aerospace industry, specializing in jet propulsion and spacecraft design. She hopes to contribute to advancements in space technology and research and push the boundaries of exploration beyond our atmosphere.

Amelia is very active in campus life and engages in several leadership and community roles. She is a community advisor in a first-year residence hall, represents Wentworth to prospective students as an admissions ambassador, and is a member of the Society for Women Engineers (SWE), the Asian Student Association (ASA), and a Women@Wentworth leader. Amelia was also a student panel speaker at the 2025 Wentworth Welcome Day, where she answered questions about the university’s engineering curriculum and told future Wentworth students that persistence, determination, and curiosity are the key to solving problems and pushing through challenges when studying engineering.

In recognition of her participation in both academics and the greater campus community, Amelia was one of five students nominated for the 2025 “Outstanding First-Year Leadership Award” at Wentworth’s Annual Student Achievement Awards.  

Amelia is incredibly grateful to be a scholarship recipient. As a second-generation college student and first-generation Asian American, this financial support has made it possible for her to pursue her education at Wentworth and fully engage in the academic and leadership opportunities it offers. Her scholarship has allowed her to stay focused on her goals, grow both personally and professionally, and make meaningful contributions on campus. She is deeply thankful to the donors whose generosity makes this transformational experience possible. 

A computer science major with minors in data science, business analytics, applied mathematics, and computer networking, Jason Dank’s pursuit of a wide variety of academic knowledge has also led him to be actively engaged in various organizations on campus. Jason serves on the Wentworth Student Government (WSG) as the Executive Vice President and Chair to the Board of Directors. He represents the student body serving on the universities' Information Technology Steering Committee (ITSC) and the School of Computing and Data Sciences (SCDS) AI task force. He is also the president and captain of the Wentworth Sailing Team, and during the summer, he competes in large yacht racing in Marblehead, MA.

Jason is passionate about developing resources for artificial intelligence, specifically in fine-tuning AI modeling and application development. This has led to creating several active AI applications while at Wentworth, including a full-stack web application that enables customers to get real-time price data on items available at the campus grocery store via their cell phones. He also has two others that he has published in the Apple App store.  

Jason has also spent three co-op semesters working as an Endpoint Systems Engineer at Harvard University. The co-op program was one of the main reasons why Jason chose to attend Wentworth, and he has found the experience to be incredibly fulfilling in shaping both his technical and soft skills as he works with his team in testing and analyzing program applications.

Without the generous scholarship support he has received, Jason believes that the success he has achieved attending Wentworth would not have been possible. Scholarships have helped him afford the opportunity to come to Wentworth and grow into the person he is today.  

Cybersecurity is not just a career path for Julia Bisse, but rather a calling to make a positive impact on society and protect individuals, businesses, and institutions from future cyber-attacks. She recently took her first steps in pursuing this calling by strengthening her technical and professional abilities in two co-op programs at tech companies across the country.

The first co-op was with Dell Technologies in Texas. There she analyzed over 1,000 customer inquiries across five security and resiliency domains and produced executive insight reports that identified and proposed actionable remediation strategies for key security risks, such as breach notifications, AI risk, and third-party governance.

The second co-op was with Verkada in California. There she worked directly with enterprise customers to troubleshoot hardware, software, networking, and electrical issues. She also tested unreleased products, documented bugs, and contributed to internal knowledge bases.

Julia is also active on campus in various organizations where she leads initiatives to support and empower her classmates. She is a National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) AiC Campus Representative, President of the Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) chapter, and the Programs Chair for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).

Thanks to Wentworth’s support and the generosity of donors, Julia has been able to grow both personally and professionally. She is incredibly grateful for the support she has received from scholarships. They have helped ease the financial burden of tuition and living expenses, enabling her to fully focus on her academic and co-op experiences without constant financial stress. Because of this support, she has been able to take advantage of opportunities such as traveling across the country for co-ops that have deeply shaped her professional growth. She truly appreciates the generosity that has made it possible for her to stay enrolled and pursue her goals with confidence and enthusiasm.

Raised in the small coastal town of Westerly, RI, Maggie Stahl developed a strong passion for wanting to protect the environment and preserve the charm of historic buildings and homes. She aspires to one day own an architectural firm that specializes in coastal resilience and planning.  

As someone who participates in numerous roles on campus, Maggie enjoys having so many opportunities to interact with faculty, staff, and her peers and learn from everyone’s different experiences. She currently works as a guest services coordinator and graphic designer for the Wentworth fitness center, an architecture tutor, and an orientation coordinator. Maggie is a member of Wentworth’s honors program and serves as Wentworth Student Government (WSG)’s Vice President of Marketing and Communication. She always feels welcomed by a friendly face anywhere on campus, and she is very grateful for the friendships, mentors, and life lessons she has collected throughout her time here.  

Without the scholarships Maggie has received, she would not be able to afford the cost of attending Wentworth. As a student who is entirely responsible for her student loans once she graduates, she is very grateful to have most of her financial burdens eased by scholarships. 

Marcus Britton chose to major in construction management because of his foundation in carpentry, which he previously studied in high school. He plans to use his concentration in real estate and his skills in carpentry to build a career where he can construct and sell homes that will have a lasting, positive impact on those living in communities like Boston or his hometown of New Bedford, MA.  

From a young age, Marcus has dedicated his time to volunteering in community ministries where he would help feed the homeless, visit nursing homes, and do whatever he could to make a difference. He has continued to volunteer his time supporting others at Wentworth as the Vice President and Programs Chair of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) where he provides opportunities for other students to grow academically and professionally.

Last year, Marcus participated in a co-op with Janey Construction. There he worked alongside experienced professionals to gain hands-on experience in site coordination, project scheduling, estimating, safety management, and blueprint reading while taking on real-world projects. Marcus found it rewarding to see how the concepts he learned in class translated directly into the daily operations of a construction site. Beyond the technical knowledge, this impactful experience also strengthened his confidence, professionalism, and leadership skills when networking with industry professionals who motivated him to pursue his dream.  

Marcus is grateful for the support he has received from scholarships, as they have played a major role in allowing him to continue his education at Wentworth. Scholarships have eased the financial burden on both him and his family, allowing him to focus more on his studies, co-op experiences, and community involvement rather than worrying about tuition costs. Without this support, staying enrolled and fully engaged in his academic journey would have been more challenging, and he deeply appreciates the generosity motivating him to work hard and give back to others in the future. 

With her father being a retired Navy chief, Rhiana Boutot spent her childhood surrounded by professional engineers who helped inspire her creativity in wanting to integrate science and art into designing, analyzing, and prototyping whatever her heart desired. Combined with an interest in wanting to explore space and further humanity's knowledge of the unknown, Rhiana is studying mechanical engineering in the hopes of becoming a systems engineer for NASA.  

Rhiana’s most recent co-op was at Boyd, a liquid cooling systems company in Woburn, MA, where she learned about refrigeration cycles, new-product design, engineering documentation, and how to work as part of a team of designers, testers, and engineers.  

An actor, a singer, and someone who enjoys crocheting and reading, Rhiana is also very active in several leadership roles throughout campus. She is a community advisor for a residence hall of 30+ first years, an admissions ambassador, a peer tutor, the event coordinator for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and a member of the Colleges of the Fenway theater program. Being a peer tutor and educating others has also made Rhiana consider becoming a teacher, as she finds it rewarding to make the complex concepts of mechanical engineering more digestible for students.

In 2025, thanks to her passion, dedication, and authenticity in her work both inside and outside of the classroom, Rhiana was awarded the "Outstanding Sophomore Leadership Award” at Wentworth’s Annual Student Achievement Awards.

Rhiana would not be able to complete any of these achievements or studies without financial aid. Because she is the one paying for her education, scholarships are what make it possible for her to afford tuition every year. She is grateful for the financial freedom she has thanks to the generosity of others, as it is this support that has allowed her to focus on her studies and extracurriculars throughout the year instead of worrying about money. 

Stefano was elected to the Wentworth Student Government (WSG) as a senator to represent the School of Engineering, and he is currently the Director of Student Affairs. As representative of the WSG, he attended out-of-state conferences in Orlando, FL and Chicago, IL. There he met with students from other universities, learned how to be an effective leader, grew closer to the other Wentworth representatives, and took the time to enjoy being in a new place. Stefano also served as an orientation leader to welcome incoming first-year students to Wentworth and was excited to gain many new connections and friends from this experience.

Because of his genuine attitude and ability to bring a wide variety of peers together toward a goal, Stefano was nominated last year for the 2025 “Outstanding First-Year Leadership Award.”  

Receiving a scholarship has allowed Stefano to participate in a variety of experiences in academics, clubs, athletics, and more. All while creating important connections, friendships, and families. Overall, Stefano is thankful for his scholarship, as it is helping him attend a great university for his future in engineering.