Gerard L. Pellegrini Scholarship 2025

Gerard L. Pellegrini was a renowned trial lawyer who established a reputation for excellence in representing working people in Western Massachusetts and throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In 1957, he founded the law firm of Pellegrini, Seeley, Ryan & Blakesley, P.C. He died in 2015, after having practiced for 50 years. Nearly seventy years after its founding, the firm continues his legacy of advocating for injured people in courts and administrative agencies throughout Massachusetts.

As a way of commemorating the 67th anniversary of the law firm, its attorneys and staff created the Gerard L. Pellegrini Scholarship. The scholarship program will recognize Mr. Pellegrini’s commitment to working people by awarding grants to members of locals affiliated with the Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council, or members’ spouses or legal dependents.

Award Amount: A total of $5,000.00 in grants will be made. (5) $1,000.00 grants will be awarded to students who will attend (or are attending) college or persons engaged in building trades apprenticeships.

Eligibility

• The scholarship is open to any current high school senior, vocational student, college student or graduate student whose families belong to a union that is part of the Western Mass Area Labor Federation and who is enrolled in a vocational program or two to four year post-secondary institution.
• Employees of Pellegrini, Seeley, Ryan & Blakesley, P.C., their immediate families (parent, child, sibling, and spouse), and persons living in the same households of such individuals (whether related or not), are not eligible to participate in the competition.
• Candidates for this scholarship should have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher and be in good overall academic standing.

Application Requirements

• The candidate must fill out the form below with all necessary information
• In further recognition of the importance of organized labor in our society and economy, applicants will be reviewed, in part, based upon the creation of an essay to answer the question "how has the labor movement benefited American society?" the criteria for selection of grant recipients will include:
  
  • a.) quality of essay creation;
  • b.) participation in extracurricular activities (including work); and
  • c.) grades/grade point average.

Thank you to all of the students who applied for the 2025 Gerard L. Pellegrini Scholarship. The application period is now closed.

The firm plans to offer this scholarship again in Spring 2026, and we encourage eligible students and union families to apply at that time.

If you have any questions regarding future scholarship cycles, please email the Scholarship Committee at adam@psrblaw.com. Please note that we are unable to respond to scholarship-related inquiries by phone.

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