The Arline Lanois O’Brien/Knight Memorial Scholarship

Criteria: (Amount Equal to One Full Annual Tuition Award) The Arline Lanois O’Brien/Knight Memorial Scholarship is awarded by the donor to a full-time sophomore who has demonstrated a high degree of industry, maturity, motivation and responsibility while attending Worcester State University. Students who apply must be employed either full- or part-time and should reference their employment in their application.

Arline was the mother of Robert K. O’Brien, a member of Worcester State Teachers College’s Class of 1958, and Janet O’Brien Martin of Leicester, Mass. Arline was born in Northborough, Mass., on May 26, 1907, the youngest of 16 children. She married Robert Ivor O’Brien on August 4, 1929, and after his death in 1976; she married Harry Knight in 1980. She worked all her life, even in those years when it was not popular for a woman to work outside the home. Arline had a great sense of humor and found her joy in bringing happiness to others. She was very industrious, willing to take on any job regardless of difficulty. She retired in 1973.

The Arline Lanois O’Brien/Knight Memorial Scholarship is designed by the donor to ensure that the recipient is guaranteed a tuition-free education toward a baccalaureate degree at Worcester State University. The donor, Robert K. O’Brien, awards this scholarship in memory of his mother, Arline Lanois O’Brien/Knight.