Elisa DePace Brieger joined our Waltham crew in 6th grade, straight outta Newton. From Kennedy Middle School to Waltham High, "Eli" was stuck in the middle of all our mischief—Wal-lex shenanigans, school plays, bootlegging, proms, Italian jokes, mailbox baseball at the Albino Farm, and somehow breaking her leg at the Weston Reservoir (mostly not our fault). She survived show choir trips, mini-golf battles, snowy driveway disasters on Vesper St, and us tormenting her entire family.
After graduating WHS in ’92, Eli went to UMass Amherst (we visited often and probably weren’t helpful to her). She later moved to Michigan, married Aaron—the actual love of her life, ending her famous love affair with Jon Bon Jovi—and built a beautiful life.
She got her master’s degree at Wayne State and became a successful speech-language pathologist. Through all the texts and phone calls from Waltham, MA to Michigan, the laughter never stopped.
We always talked or texted about our Waltham High memories, our families, lives, and the jokes never stopped. She fought an unfair and courageous battle with her kidneys for years. Eli was just shy of her 50th trip around the sun when she lost that battle. This scholarship is for Waltham kids who liked what she liked. Selfishly, it lets us keep the memories alive, keep telling our Eli stories, and keep thinking of her.