The Betsy Siegelaub Memorial Scholarship Fund

Betsy Siegelaub began teaching in Bellmore-Merrick in 1979. She taught French and Italian in all three high schools and both middle schools in the district. Throughout her tenure in Bellmore-Merrick, she cultivated in her students a love of language and an appreciation for other cultures.

At Mepham, Betsy served as the advisor to the French Honor Society and the Italian Honor Society.  Under her direction, the honor societies have hosted numerous fundraising and school events, including the ever-popular Italian Culture Night and the Chandeleur ELITE event.  Betsy infused into the honor society mission a strong tradition of community service and giving back to the community through initiatives such as collecting school supplies and Halloween costumes, adopting a family over the winter holiday, and preparing bagged lunches for the homeless.

 Betsy was always a source of positivity, guidance, and support for her students and the entire department. Her passion and enthusiasm for language and culture were only matched by her kindness and genuine care and concern for her students and colleagues. Over the years, her passion even inspired several of her students to pursue careers connected to world languages.

Betsy is survived by her devoted husband Marc and loving son Nathan. Together with her family, the Mepham World Language Department is establishing this fund in Betsy’s memory, with the goals of honoring and remembering her legacy and recognizing a Mepham student that demonstrates excellence in world language and chooses to pursue a degree in world language or education in his or her college studies.