By Clark Judge
(June 11, 2026) — When the Killingworth Ambulance Association each Spring reveals the recipients of its annual scholarships, multiple individuals almost always are involved … and this year was no different. Five were named, including four asked to come forward at this week’s “Scholarship Night” at Haddam-Killingworth High School.
So, nothing new there.
But if you listened closely, you might have detected something different at this year’s event … and it had nothing to do with the recipients and everything to do with their awards. For the first time, they had a new title – the Don McDougall Memorial Scholarship, named after one of the KAA’s founders, who died last month at 92.
McDougall not only served the KAA for almost 53 years, he was on its board for 47 and the head of its scholarship committee until this Spring. It was that lifetime commitment that compelled the KAA to have all future scholarships awarded in McDougall’s name … which they were on June 8, 2026 when four HKHS seniors were honored.
That’s twice the number as 2025, a testament to the caliber of applicants — all of whom were in the top 17% of their class. So who are they? You’re about to meet them.
ASHLEY KELLY
HKHS students are required to perform 30 or more hours of community service before graduating, but Ashley decided to raise that bar. She performed 480, including work at Middlesex and Yale New Haven Hospitals – experiences that convinced her that, as she put it, “health care is not just a profession; it’s a lifelong commitment to service.” Ashley will attend Colby-Sawyer College, where she plans to major in Nursing.
JOSH FRITH
You might think that someone who played football for ten years, announced games and ran a scoreboard might choose a career involved with athletics … but not Josh. Instead, he intends to major in biological health sciences at the University of South Florida, where he will pursue a career involved with improving patient care.
EMMA GIACCONE
If her name sounds familiar, it should. In addition to being a poised and successful student, Emma was a poised and successful softball pitcher who set HKHS’s career strikeout and victory records and was chosen to an All-State squad. Emma’s story is one of overcoming personal hurdles, and that story will continue when she attends Providence College and studies to be a Pediatric Speech Pathologist.
EMMA KOWALSKI
Emma is the KAA’s first-ever applicant to declare biomedical engineering as her major, and, no, not all EMTs were sure what it meant, either – that is, until Emma notified the board the scholarship committee that she hopes “to develop technology to improve patients’ well-being, save lives” and, possibly become a doctor. Emma will attend Boston University this fall.
So that’s four. What about the fifth? It was Arabella Fripp from Mercy High School, a senior who completed nearly 200 hours of public service. Emma will attend the University of Miami, where she intends to major in psychology in preparation for a career in psychiatry.
KAA scholarships are awarded to high-school seniors who live in Killingworth, maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher, plan to attend a two-or-four-year institution and major in the medical, emergency of allied fields. Over the past three years, 13 individuals have received scholarships, including six in 2024. All but Fripp graduated from HKHS.
Photo by Amy Giarnella, Left to Right: Josh Frith, Ashley Kelly, Emma Giaccone and Emma Kowalski.
