Ellwood City Rotary Club Annual Scholarships

Ellwood City Rotary Club’s annual Scholarship Dinner was, as always, a special night for Rotarians, guests, scholarship recipients and their families. The yearly event, which took place May 19 at the Connoquenessing Country Club, was conducted by master of ceremonies and Scholarship Committee chair Mark Smith.

Each year, our Club presents academic scholarships to worthy Lincoln and Riverside high school students. A 2016 Genevieve Blank Memorial Scholarship of $1,000 was awarded to Riverside High School senior Shanna Ridgley. The daughter of Don and Sheri Ridgley, Shanna will be attending the University of Pittsburgh, pursuing studies in Pre-Dental.

Also receiving a Blank Scholarship for the same amount is Carter MacMurdo, a senior at Lincoln High School. The son of Robert and Pamela MacMurdo, Carter will be attending the United States Naval Academy, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Carter was attending the Lincoln High School Senior Class Trip and will be recognized on June 23 at our Thursday evening meeting.

Geena DeCaria, also a senior at Lincoln High School, was awarded the Thomas Sitler Memorial Scholarship/Annette Feldman Memorial Scholarship. The $750 award included $250 for the Feldman Scholarship. Geena, the daughter of Anthony and Mary DeCaria, was also attending the Lincoln High School Senior Class Trip and will be recognized on June 23. Geena will be attending the Community College of Beaver County and will major in Allied Health Nursing.

Emma French, a senior at Riverside High School, was also a recipient of the Thomas Sitler Memorial Scholarship/Annette Feldman Memorial Scholarship. The $750 award will go toward her future education at the Community College of Beaver County where Emma will be seeking an Associate Degree in Nursing.

Our past Genevieve Blank Memorial Scholarship recipients were also awarded $1,000 each on this rewarding evening. They are Travis Court (2014) who is studying Physics/Psychology at Allegheny College; Jason Pettner (2014), studying Financial Advising at Penn State University – Main Campus; Lacey Garvin (2013), pursuing Biology/Pre-Optometry at the University of Kentucky; and Tyler Falk (2013), studying Finance at Clarion University.

This past year, Travis earned a placement on the Distinguished Alden Scholarship List (High Dean’s List). Jason, who is pursuing his Certified Financial Planner designation, was selected for an internship with Hefren-Tillotson this summer. Lacey, who just finished her junior year at the University of Kentucky, is quite active in leadership initiatives. She will serve as Director of Involvement for Leadership Exchange this upcoming year. Tyler has continued with his collegiate academic standing of maintaining a 4.0 grade point average. He is both an excellent student and baseball player, being eligible for academic All-American status. The voting for that honor will take place in late May/early June.

Photos submitted.