CMC Holds Reception Honoring 2026 Scholarship Winners Awards $72,000 in Four-Year Scholarships to WHS Graduates
By Barry Jaruzelski, CMC Trustee
On Monday, June 29, the College Men’s Club of Westfield (CMC) held a reception at the home of CMC President Dave Germond to honor the three 2026 recipients of the club’s four-year college scholarships. Dylan Palumbo, CMC Scholarship Committee Co-Chair, introduced this year’s scholarship winners and noted that “this year’s scholarship program was the most competitive in memory and that the recipients were selected based on their academic achievement, community involvement, financial need, and career direction.” The three young men graduated from Westfield High School as members of the Class of 2026 and include:
Elijah Brown, who will attend University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. He plans to major in English and Political Science, laying the foundation for attending law school. Elijah was awarded a $24,000, four-year CMC scholarship.
Christian Ruiz, who will attend Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey this Fall. He plans to study Finance, with a long-term goal of working on Wall Street in cybersecurity. Christian was awarded a $24,000, four-year CMC scholarship.
Connor Whelan, who plans to study Economics at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. He hopes to later attend law school and become an attorney. Connor was awarded a $24,000, four-year CMC scholarship.
During the reception, scholarship recipients from previous Westfield High School graduating classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025 shared updates on their academic and career progress. CMC President David Germond stated that the club’s Spring Scholar Reception is “the highlight of the year as the CMC trustees get to meet our newest class of awardees as well as learn about the latest achievements of previous CMC scholars.”
In addition to the multi-year scholarships, earlier this Spring the CMC awarded a WHS sophomore a one-time grant valued at $1,600 to fund one-on-one standardized test preparation courses conducted by CollegeWise.
The College Men’s Club of Westfield was founded in 1922 and over the past century has helped hundreds of Westfield young men by providing college tuition assistance and funding standardized test preparatory courses. Since its founding, the CMC has raised and distributed nearly $1.6 million in higher education assistance to young men of the Westfield community to attend over 130 institutions of higher learning. In 2026, the CMC awarded a total of $74,850 in four-year scholarships and one-time grants.
Scholarship applications are available online at the CMC website and through the WHS guidance department in February of each year. Applications are evaluated by a committee of CMC Trustees each Spring. Funds for scholarships are generated through fund-raising events, donations, membership dues, endowment investment income, and legacy bequests.
To learn more about the College Men’s Club of Westfield, please go to www.cmcwestfield.org.