Initiated by the scholarship’s namesake and continued in her honor by the
Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy of the Austen Riggs Center, the Evelyn Stefansson Nef Scholarship is awarded annually (since 2000) to students from Lenox Memorial High School, Monument Mountain High School, and Lee High School who are selected for their record of academic excellence throughout the high school years, their stated intention to study social sciences or pre-medical studies in a four-year college program, and their demonstrated leadership in community service. The $1,000 scholarship is paid to recipients after they complete their first semester of college.
Evelyn Stefansson Nef was an author, lecturer, patron of the arts, philanthropist, Arctic explorer, psychotherapist, and a benefactor of the Austen Riggs Center who passed away in 2009.