2024 Westbrook Hall of Fame Award Honorees Announced
Press Release from Dr. Kristina J. Martineau, Westbrook Superintendent of Schools
Westbrook Public Schools is pleased to announce this year’s recipients of the Westbrook High School (WHS) Hall of Fame Award to honor WHS graduates who have excelled in their careers and serve as role models for the children of Westbrook and future generations of graduates.
This year, the new WHS Hall of Fame Committee reviewed more than 30 nominations from its school and alumni community. After careful consideration, the committee selected two distinguished graduates who are both role models through their success in their chosen careers: Ms. Bernadette Carver (Class of 1977) and Ms. Heather Vogell (Class of 1992). Carver was also selected for her extensive and ongoing commitment to community service in Westbrook.
The 2024 WHS Hall of Fame honorees were recognized by the Westbrook superintendent of schools, Dr. Kristina Martineau, at the WHS Class of 2024 graduation ceremony on June 14.
Bernadette A. (Pagano) Carver—WHS Class of 1977
Ms. Carver began her career with Essex Savings Bank as a high school junior through an internship program. After high school, Carver attended The Stone School of Business in New Haven and completed the accounting program, graduating early with honors. In 1978, she accepted a job with Essex Saving Bank as a teller and has been with the bank for 45 years, holding many positions, including high level leadership and management positions. Currently, she holds the position of vice president, corporate secretary & compliance officer. She was instrumental in implementing the Operations and Lending departments at the bank. While working at the bank, Carver also attended the Connecticut School of Finance and Management and The National School of Banking.
Carver has always been very loyal and involved in her community. Her current involvements include the Bankers Compliance Association of Connecticut, Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce, Exchange Club of Old Saybrook/Westbrook, Westbrook Daisy Dash, Beach Jam for Cancer Patient Care, Shoreline Soup Kitchen, and Connecticut River Museum. Carver has been an active volunteer in the community of Westbrook in many ways, with the Westbrook tree lighting, Westbrook Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and Vista Life Innovations to name just a few. As a result of her loyalty and service to her small town and surrounding areas, she is a pillar in these communities, earning an award from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County as a “Behind the Scenes Unsung Hero.”
Heather Vogell—WHS Class of 1992
Ms. Vogell is an investigative reporter at Pro Publica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. Vogell has had a highly successful and award-winning career in journalism. She has exposed abuse at group homes for the developmentally disabled and high schools which push out low achievers to raise their graduation rates. A series she co-authored, “Cheating Our Children,” which examined suspicious test scores in public schools across the nation, was a 2013 finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting. She has also received several other prizes.
After attending WHS, Vogell attended Georgetown University, where she received a BA in English. Vogell continued her education and earned two graduate degrees from prestigious programs in her field: an MS degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a second MS degree in public administration from the CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice Inspector General program.
Nominations for the 2025 Westbrook Hall of Fame Award will open in the fall of 2024. Honorees will be selected in the spring of 2025 and then be recognized at the WHS Class of 2025 graduation ceremony in June.
