Riggs Awards Three Berkshire County Students $1,000 Evelyn Stefansson Nef Scholarships

Stockbridge, MA — June 10, 2025 — The Austen Riggs Center’s Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy has announced the recipients of the 2025 Evelyn Stefansson Nef Scholarship, an annual honor that celebrates academic excellence, commitment to the social sciences and healthcare fields, and local community service.

This year’s $1,000 scholarships have been awarded to three outstanding graduates from Berkshire County high schools:

The Evelyn Stefansson Nef Scholarship has been awarded annually since 2000 to one graduating senior from each of the three high schools—Lenox Memorial, Monument Mountain, and Lee—based on their academic performance, plans to pursue social sciences or pre-medical studies, and history of leadership through community involvement. Recipients receive the funds after completing their first semester of college.

Evelyn Stefansson Nef, the scholarship’s namesake, was a multifaceted figure: author, Arctic explorer, psychotherapist, patron of the arts, and a dedicated philanthropist. A longtime supporter of the Austen Riggs Center, she passed away in 2009, but her legacy continues to uplift the next generation of socially engaged scholars in Berkshire County.