Awards & Scholarships

The Gerda Haas Award for Excellence in Human Rights Education and Leadership

Every year our Board nominates the Gerda Haas Award recipients. Gerda Haas, founding mother of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, has inspired many with her passion for human rights education. A Holocaust survivor originally from Germany, Gerda learned that students weren’t being taught about the Holocaust in Maine schools. Gerda not only identified a critical educational void, she took action to rectify it. The Holocaust and Human Rights Center welcomes the opportunity to recognize and honor an individual who, like Gerda Haas, has demonstrated excellence and initiative in human rights education and leadership.

2026 Gerda Haas Award Winners

We are so proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 Gerda Haas Award for Excellence in Human Rights Education and Leadership, the Center’s highest honor. This year’s recipients are: Sue Roche, Executive Director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP); Mufalo Chitam, Executive Director of the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (MIRC); Claudette Ndayininahaze,‍ ‍Executive Director of In Her Presence; and Madeleine Saucier, Executive Director of Hope Acts. These extraordinary women are recognized for their leadership in advancing human dignity, strengthening communities, and expanding opportunities for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers throughout Maine. Together, the four organizations reflect the enduring values the Gerda Haas Award, which was established to recognize individuals and organizations whose work reflects the values at the heart of HHRC’s educational mission. Through legal services, education, leadership development, housing, and community support, they have strengthened Maine communities while affirming the dignity and worth of every person.

Corey Hinton, 2023

Mary Bonauto, 2022

Student Awards & Scholarships

2026 Student Award Winners

The Lawrence Alan Spiegel Remembrance Scholarship is awarded to a high school senior who authors the prize-winning, original essay on the prompt: “Learning about the Holocaust affected my view of the world and it is important for others to learn about it too.” Lauren Jordan won the $1,000 scholarship for her essay More Than Memories. She enjoyed the writing process because it gave her the opportunity to learn more about her family’s history. She graduated from Noble High School in North Berwick and plans to attend the University of Rhode Island as a Public Health major on the premed track, where she hopes to continue serving others through medicine and community involvement.

The Mathilde Schlossberger Outstanding Student of the Year Award recognizes an exceptional piece of original writing, or an expressive piece of visual or performance art relating to human rights. The award was created by Florence and Kurt Strauss in memory of his maternal grandmother, who was murdered at Theresienstadt. There are two Schlossberger Award winners this year.

Nela Parker of Cony High School received the award for her short story entitled Have you seen Sofia? Nela will be attending Emerson College, where she hopes to grow as a writer and learn how to create stories that reach even more people. She has always loved creating, and hopes to spend her life telling stories that give a voice to people whose experiences deserve to be seen and understood. Grace Jiang of Dexter Regional High School is receiving the award for a drawing she created. Says Grace, “What was initially a school assignment turned into something more profound. I delved into theme of Jewish Resistance and focused on spiritual defiance. I was inspired by a lyric in Radiohead’s song Let Down: “One day, I am gonna grow wings.” It cuts deep in the sense that death could have meant the same thing as freedom to the inmates. I’m honored this piece meant something to The HHRC. Thank you!”

The Awards & Scholarship Program sponsored by the HHRC. This is an integral piece of our education offerings and a meaningful way to honor the mission and vision of those who created the HHRC 39 years ago. The awards ask students to think deeply about their personal experiences relating to the Holocaust and human rights, encouraging self reflection and a creative response based on students’ learning, personal experiences, and thoughts. Below are descriptions of the awards with links to the applications. Please help us spread the word about this important tradition.

The Lawrence Alan Spiegel Remembrance Scholarship
The Spiegel Scholarship ($1,000) is awarded annually to the high school senior who authors the prize-winning, original essay on the prompt: “Learning about the Holocaust affected my view of the world and it is important for others to learn about it too.” Criteria: originality of voice and viewpoint, structure, command of language and mechanics.

The Mathilde Schlossberger Outstanding Student of the Year Award
The Schlossberger Award recognizes an exceptional piece of original writing, fiction or non-fiction, or an unusually expressive piece of visual or performance art relating to human rights. The award was created by Florence and Kurt Strauss of Portland in memory of Kurt’s maternal grandmother, who was murdered at Theresienstadt.

We are delighted to share that this year's Spiegel Scholarship has been awarded to Kelly Malcolm. Following the scholarship committee's thoughtful review and selection, Tam had the pleasure of notifying Kelly of the good news. A recent graduate of Ellsworth High School, Kelly will be attending Maine Maritime Academy this fall, where she plans to major in International Business and Logistics. Kelly will join us for the 40th Anniversary Gala on September 16th to read an excerpt from her essay and share why she feels passionately about Holocaust education.

We’re also proud to announce the recipient of the Schlossberger Award is Braydan Benton. Braydan is a rising freshman at Poland Regional High School and submitted his award-winning entry, a compelling one-person performance on the Americans with Disabilities Act, while attending Bruce M. Whittier Middle School.

Read the essays by past Spiegel Scholarship winners