Littleton Coin Company Presents Annual Scholarships
June 13, 2025 – Littleton, NH – Littleton Coin Company recently awarded five scholarships for the continuing education of children of our employee owners and outstanding area students.
The Rena Hood/Bartlett McKinney Memorial Scholarships honor two longtime LCC employees' dedication to education and community service. Each year they are given to children of LCC employee owners. This year's recipients are Grace Egan of Littleton and Samara Rutledge of Concord, VT.
Grace Egan with her mother Kierstin Shields, of LCC's Creative Services Department.
Grace is the daughter of Kierstin Shields; her mother works in Creative Services, part of LCC's Marketing Department. This fall, Grace will attend White Mountains Community College in Berlin, NH to further her dream of becoming an early childhood teacher.
As a participant in Littleton High School’s Teacher Education Program, Grace completed Teacher's Education One and Two and gained practical experience as an intern at Little Leopards Learning Center, a private preschool/daycare facility offering early childhood education in town. Her community service has been geared towards helping children. While in high school, Grace was active in chorus while also holding down a part-time job to earn tuition money. In her free time, she enjoys babysitting and spending time caring for furry and feathered animals.
Samara Rutledge with her mother Naomi Drown, of LCC's Web Department.
Samara Rutledge is the daughter of Naomi Drown, who is part of LCC’s Web Group. A graduate of St. Johnsbury Academy, Samara plans to attend the State University of New York-Canton where she will pursue a B.S. degree in veterinary technology.
Art, softball and spending time with family rank among Samara’s passions – though her leading interest is working with animals. During high school, she had an internship at Kingdom Animal Hospital in St. Johnsbury. There, she was able to observe surgeries, shadow veterinary technicians and assist with appointments. She also interned at Kingdom Canine Center in Lyndonville and worked at Aqua Realm, a pet store in St. Johnsbury. In the summer of 2024, she participated in a week-long internship at Capron Park Zoo in Attleboro, MA where she experienced dorm life, met new friends and worked closely with such exotic animals as red pandas and kangaroos and a favorite emu named Cupcake.
Littleton High School’s top three graduates in the Class of 2025 also received academic scholarships from Littleton Coin. They are:
Valedictorian Fiona Chau, an outstanding all-around student. Her extracurricular activities encompassed being president of the National Honor Society and LHS Class of 2025; a member of the Tri-Music Honor Society, Student Council, Yearbook staff, plus playing on the Girls’ Varsity Tennis team and being stage manager for the LHS Players. Fiona also tutored K-6 students in the after-school program. For the town’s Summer Park Program, Fiona was lead counselor, supervising K-2, and 3rd and 4th grade students. Setting her career goal to enroll in a doctoral program specializing in anesthesia, Fiona has been accepted at Boston College where she will first pursue a B.S. degree in nursing this fall.
Salutatorian Molly Donahue’s strong work ethic and commitment to community saw her serve as Student Council President, National Honor Society Secretary, and student representative to the Board of Education. She was a member of the Varsity Field Hockey and Softball Teams, LHS Players, plus creator and editor in chief of L.H.S. Creative Pursuits Magazine. She has volunteered at the public library and the Littleton Area Historical Society Museum. This fall, Molly will be enrolled at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA in her pursuit of a B.A. in history. Her career goal is to become a traveling archivist, working in museums, cataloging artifacts, and researching and writing books.
Reece Cook ranked third in the Class of 2025, and his integrity, dedication, and drive shone in school and the community. He served as National Honor Society and class vice presidents. Reece was a three-sport athlete in basketball, baseball and soccer. Equally talented in academics, Reece had a special interest in math, science and the mechanical field which challenged him to design, develop, build and test anything that moves. This fall, he will pursue a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. The program he selected is grounded in math, science, humanities and social science.
Littleton Coin congratulates these outstanding students for their academic and community service achievements, and wishes them well in their future studies.
Serving coin and paper money collectors nationwide for 80 years, Littleton Coin Company is a 100% employee-owned company, currently employing more than 200 area residents in a wide variety of interesting and challenging full-time and part-time positions. To learn more, visit the company’s website at LittletonCoin.com.
