2023 Marblehead High Graduates Tamia Johnson and Cody Selvais Receive Sterny’s Way Scholarships

Tamia Johnson and Cody Selvais, two recent graduates of Marblehead High School’s class of 2023, are the recipients of this year’s Sterny’s Way Scholarships. These $1,000 scholarships are given annually in memory of David Stern, a former Marblehead youth sports coaching legend and supporter of the arts. Stern passed away in 2009.

The Sterny’s Way Arts Scholarship winner, Tamia Johnson, completed an impressive four years at Marblehead High. Johnson excelled academically, graduating with a 3.31 GPA. She served as a leader inside and outside the classroom as a three-year class officer, as well as a participant in several sports teams, clubs and activities, including the Peer Mentor Program. As a Peer Mentor, Tamia played an important role in helping freshmen get acclimated academically and socially to high school.

An active member of the METCO Program, the Boston resident attended Marblehead public schools since the fourth grade. At MHS, Johnson’s activities and accomplishments were essentially limitless.  She was a committed member of the cheerleading, gymnastics and lacrosse teams, serving as captain of the 2022 fall cheerleading team, as well as the 2022 gymnastics team. As captain of the cheerleading team, Tamia created the halftime routines for both the varsity and junior varsity squads. She also led fundraising efforts for the gymnastics team and assisted both the boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams by videotaping their games to help the coaches improve the performance of their teams.

Tamia volunteered at several food shelters and nursing homes including My Brother’s Table in Lynn, the Lafayette Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Facility in Marblehead, Community Servings in Jamaica Plan and Cradles to Crayons in Quincy. She also worked as a gymnastics instructor and camp counselor at the Marblehead-Swampscott YMCA.

At MHS Tamia developed a deep passion for the film industry through her coursework in film production, film studies and studio production. Tamia will take her talents to the west coast this fall. She will attend San Diego State University and she plans to major in Film, New Media, and Television Production.

Selvais, the winner of the Sterny’s Way Sports Scholarship, had a similarly impressive Marblehead High career. A member of the National Honors Society, Selvais graduated with a 4.1 GPA and was a member of the High Honor Roll every quarter of his MHS career.  He also received the 2022 Principals Award (one of only two recipients), the 2033 Excellence in Mathematics Award and the Margaret Jancsy Award for leadership and serving as a role model to other students.

He served as a three-year member of the MHS Debate Club and was a two-year member of the Student Council and Marblehead Community Outreach Club.

Like Johnson, Selvais found time to give back to the community as a Peer Mentor and a member of the Best Buddies program.  He founded a mental health support group for fellow students to help those struggling with remote learning and other academic and social challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Cody was a four-year member of the baseball program and he also played football and basketball at the JV level. Cody volunteered with the town’s youth sports programs by coaching a 12-year-old boys’ flag football team for four years.

Cody will attend UMASS Amherst this fall and will major in marketing.

Sterny’s Way, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, appreciates the community’s continued support to fund the annual scholarships of $1,000 to a student who has shown dedication to the Arts (music, dance, fine arts, etc.) and a second scholarship to a former Marblehead Youth Softball or Marblehead Youth Baseball player.