Tassinari Receives Massport’s Donna Rauseo Scholarship

By John Lynds

East Boston resident Rachel Tassinari (second from left) was the winner of the 2017 $5,000 Donna Rauseo Memorial Scholarship. Also pictured is Massport CEO Thomas Glynn, John Rauseo and Massport’s Alaina Travaglini.

Massport announced the recipient of the annual scholarship honoring the memory of Donna Rauseo, a lifelong resident of East Boston and long-time employee of the Port Authority.

Eastie resident Rachel Tassinari was awarded the $5,000 scholarship last week during a ceremony at Massport. The Scholarship is awarded annually to a female student who resides in Eastie.

To be considered for the Donna Rauseo Memorial Scholarship, female students are required to have  minimum 3.0 grade point average and submit an essay of 1,000 words describing their career interests or how their community service has affected their outlook on life.

Tassinari is a graduate of Boston Latin School. In the past she volunteered with the St. Joseph-St. Lazarus Parish teaching children religious education.

In her essay, Tassinari writes that her volunteer work has allowed her to, “give back to those who have assisted me through my life and given me opportunities to succeed has made my community service an invaluable part of my life”.

“We are thrilled to award Rachel with the Donna Rauseo Scholarship,” said Massport CEO Thomas Glynn. “Through her work in her community, it is clear that she is following in Donna’s footsteps and we wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. Her passion for volunteerism and her community represents what we were looking for when we established the scholarship in memory of our friend and colleague Donna Rauseo.”

Donna Rauseo, a longtime East Boston resident known for her personality and sparkling sense of humor, died in 2009.

Born Donna Morash, Rauseo was part of an Eastie family known for their political, social and environmental activism. At a very young age Rauseo’s social conscience was fully formed by her family, most especially by her mother, longtime community activist Evelyn Morash.

Rauseo was a graduate of East Boston High School and began her working career helping the neighborhood’s poorer residents through the East Boston APAC social service programs.

After working at APAC for over two decades, Rauseo went on to work for Massport as Tom Kinton’s executive assistant,  when Kinton served as Aviation Director at Logan Airport and later CEO and Executive Director for Massport.

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