Lauded for working to help their workplace-injured mothers while maintaining excellent grades

PORTLAND, Maine – A Rhode Island honors student whose single mother suffered a work-related injury and a University of Maine engineering student whose injured parent speaks English as a second language are the 2021 winners of The MEMIC Group’s Harvey Picker Horizon Scholarship Program. MEMIC is a workers’ compensation insurance company serving employers from Maine to Florida.

Jaylyn Marte, winner of a $10,000 scholarship award, recently graduated with honors from LaSalle Academy in Rhode Island, maintaining excellent grades while helping nurse her single mother back to health.

In addition to academic achievements, Jaylyn kept a large portfolio of extracurricular activities, including Diversity Club leadership, United Way Day of Action volunteering, and working with the elderly. While balancing schoolwork and extracurriculars, she also added part-time employment to help at home.

A dedicated STEM student, Jaylyn will attend Nova Southeastern University, where she hopes to focus her collegiate studies on optometry.

Winner of the $5,000 Scholarship, Amir Seidakhmetov, is an honors student planning a career in electrical and computer engineering this fall at the University of Maine.

While maintaining a 3.84 GPA in high school, Amir participated in many extracurricular activities and was a shift supervisor at work nights and weekends to support himself and his mother, a 44-year-old housekeeper and single mother whose primary language is Russian.

“We are in awe of these two bright young scholars who seem to know no boundaries when it comes to learning, community service, and conscientious caring,” MEMIC Group President and CEO Michael Bourque said. “These are values we share at The MEMIC Group, so we’re thrilled to be able to assist in financing their college educations.

“We wish Jaylyn the best of luck at Nova Southeastern, Amir the best at University of Maine, and their mothers swift and certain recoveries from their injuries,” Bourque said.

Founded in 2008, the Harvey Picker Horizon Scholarship Program aids the children and spouses of workers who have been seriously injured on the job. MEMIC has awarded $210,000 in scholarships since the program’s inception.

The scholarship is named after former Camden resident Harvey Picker, a renowned physicist, educator, philanthropist, and advocate for education. In 1992, Picker was appointed by then-Gov. John R. McKernan as a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Workers’ Compensation, which led to the formation of MEMIC 28. Picker also served as a member of the Board of Directors at MEMIC.

Applicants complete the application in May to be considered for a scholarship of up to $10,000. To be eligible for the scholarship, the related injured worker must have been working for a MEMIC policyholder at the time of injury.

Applications are reviewed by a selection committee for financial need, academic performance, community involvement, other life experiences, as well as future promise. Students must be attending or planning to attend an accredited college or university.

For more information and to request a copy of the application, please call 1-800-660-1306 and say “Horizon Scholarship” at the prompt or visit memic.com/horizon.

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About MEMIC
The MEMIC Group includes MEMIC Indemnity Company, MEMIC Casualty Company, and parent company Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company; all rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best. As a super‐regional workers’ compensation specialty insurer, The MEMIC Group holds licenses to write workers’ compensation across the country. The group insures more than 20,000 employers and their estimated 300,000 employees, and holds more than $1.5 billion in assets. With its headquarters in Portland, Maine, the group has field staff in 16 states, primarily along the Eastern seaboard.