STUDENT WINS $20K SCHOLARSHIP FOR DARE COMMITMENT

MILLIS -- As Mary Kate Duffy walked up and down the aisle of the Millis
High School auditorium, a chorus of fifth-graders screamed at the tops of
their lungs, "Right here! Right here!"

Duffy, a high school senior, held a stack of black T-shirts in her arms and
tossed them to the excited kids just before the start of the DARE
graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 11.

Duffy has come a long way since she graduated from the town's Drug Abuse
Resistance Education (DARE) program seven years ago. Sgt. Peter McGowan,
the DARE officer, announced during the ceremony that Duffy had been awarded
a $20,000 college scholarship as a result of her strong community
involvement. She will attend Boston College in the fall.

Duffy, the DARE Youth Advisory Board representative for the town and the
state, beat out 49 other candidates throughout the country to win the
scholarship. McGowan said Duffy deserved to win the scholarship.

"She is an amazing person," said McGowan. "She is the type of person who
forms her own ideas and always follows through with them. It's important
for her to try and make a difference. It was a pleasure to work with
someone like Mary Kate. Her enthusiasm in everything she does is infectious.

"These kids really look up to Mary Kate as a role model," he said. "She
really did a great job. She's great with the kids and she's been a big
asset to the DARE program. A good portion of the success of the DARE
program is due to her effort."

Duffy has also organized a six-week program for grades 5 through 8 called
Peer Plus, which included activities for younger students like a bowling
day, a movie event, a magic show, a sports day, and she organized a visit
by Patriots player Mike Vrabel. Duffy, who is also president of Students
Against Destructive Decisions, said she wants to show kids there are better
things in life than doing drugs and alcohol.

"The program just took off and the kids really seemed to like it," said
Duffy. "These programs had a strong impact on my life and I just wanted to
have a positive impact on the lives of these kids. I'm really going to miss
these kids."