Thomas Merton Award - 2010-11

Service and Faith Honored

Mount Scholarship Awarded

Emmitsburg, MD - Mount St. Mary’s University announces Kevin Abdo, class of 2011 is the recipient of the Mount’s first annual 2010 Thomas Merton Award.

The scholarship, established  by Peter, C’60, and Jan O’Malley of Beltsville, MD, in memory of Eleanor & Peter F. O’Malley, honors a senior who is a Catholic in good standing, has shown academic merit, and is recommended by his/her peers for their commitment to the Church, and service to the community and those most in need.

Kevin graduated from Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore, MD and is a member of Saint Mary of the Mills parish in Laurel, Maryland.  “From the moment he stepped onto campus at the Mount, Kevin had dedicated himself to serving the community,” says Mount President Thomas H. Powell. 

Kevin was the only freshman to participate in the Adventure-Service trip to Belize the first time it was run in the summer of 2008.  Since then, Kevin has led service trips, coordinated giving campaigns, recruited students to participate in volunteer efforts and most recently led a group of students to Harrisburg, PA to build and clean up a playground for the Silence of Mary Children’s Home.

Peter O'Malley presented the Thomas Merton Award to Kevin during the Mount's 2010 Convocation ceremony on August 25, 2010. 

Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, in Kentucky is a well known Catholic writer, social activist and embodied the quest for God and for human solidarity.

For more information on the Thomas Merton Scholarship at the Mount please visit us at www.msmary.edu.