A crowd of 185 packed the Wareham-New Bedford Lodge of Elks #73 Thursday night, to honor the 2014 - 2015 school year students of the month, and students of the year.

The lodge held a small banquet and a ceremony for the 58 students who were nominated from the five schools in the areas of New Bedford and Wareham. In each school, a student was nominated as student of the month each month, between September 2014 and May 2015, and one was nominated as student of the school year. In two cases, a student of the month was also student of the year.

Exalted Ruler Robert Hurley said the students were given small scholarship checks, in amounts that ranged between $50 and $500, depending on the student's achievements. Hurley said the students of the month all got about $50.

From Wareham High School, the students of the month were Jonathan Buckley, Jason White, Cory Harunkiewicz, Hannah Eddleston, Nick Svedine, Gabriel Lefrancois, Kelsey Smart, Madison St. Julien, and Noah Wambolt. Wareham High School’s student of the year was Cory Harunkiewicz.

Former Exalted Ruler Ted Hatch said he believed the schools picked students based on a combination of academics and extracurricular activities.