How Will You Be Remembered?

The Late Christopher Wells, AHS ’75, Is Still Touching Lives

AHS Class of 1975 yearbook

Chris Wells, a standout student-athlete at Abington High School, graduated in 1975. He lost his life before graduating from Dartmouth College in a tragic motorcycle accident. His friends set up a scholarship fund that has benefited many AHS grads.

Isabella O'Connell, Contributor
March 19, 2019

Christopher Wells, an Abington High School graduate from the class of 1975, ranked fourth in his class at Abington and was an exceptional athlete. He served in the National Honor Society at Abington High as well.

After graduation, Wells went on to further his education at Dartmouth College. Shortly after graduating from Dartmouth, Wells was involved in a tragic motorcycle accident in California and passed away.

In 2015, Wells was posthumously accepted into Abington High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame for his remarkable performances in football, basketball, baseball, and tennis.

Since his death, Wells’ friends and classmates from the Class of 1975 set up the Christopher Wells Scholarship Fund for the students of Abington High School. The fund has given out approximately $140,000 in scholarships, helping kids of Abington attend their top choice school.

“

The scholarship has been really helpful seeing as it lasts for my four years at UVM and applies to my second semester tuition.

— Allison Dennehy

Wells’ classmates are now enlisting support from the community to help reach their latest fund goal. They are currently at $345,000 and would like to reach $500,000. A GoFundMe account was recently establish to help reach their goal. In past years the recipients of the scholarship have been academically inclined, student athletes, and leaders.

The Wells Scholarship Foundation’s main fundraising event is an annual Golf Tournament held every June. However, the group would like to widen the scholarship requirements and open it up to other students, but can only do so with the help of the community to reach their goal.

This year, 2019, marks the 37th anniversary. Last year’s recipient received $6,000 as a scholarship, which is a tremendous amount. The organization has come so far from having its first recipient receive a $500 scholarship. Wells’ classmates would like to keep helping the students at Abington High School, and reach their goal sooner than later so that the total amount of annual scholarships provided to students could be at least tripled from its current amount.

The most recent recipient of the scholarship, Allison Dennehy, greatly appreciated the scholarship. She said “ The scholarship has been really helpful seeing as it lasts for my four years at UVM and applies to my second semester tuition.” Dennehy said that, “This scholarship helps me cover my costs such as textbooks.”

Another benefit Dennehy noted is that “the scholarship has allowed me some freedom to enjoy other opportunities that UVM has to offer without feeling too stressed about money. For example, I am currently in Virginia doing a service trip for spring break.”

When asked what she knew about the Abington High alumni for whom the scholarship was named for, Dennehy said “ I didn’t know much about Chris Wells before I was introduced to the scholarship. It was definitely one that stuck out to me because Wells was known for being a great student and an athlete. I felt like other scholarships may have favored one of these areas over the other, but the [Wells] foundation seemed to value both equally.”

Chris’s friends and the Wells’ family were able to turn a tragedy into something that keeps alive a positive memory of Wells. It is an inspiring story and worthy of support.

Some of the most recent recipients of the scholarship include: