Ten area graduating seniors recently received scholarships from the Big 30 Athletic Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.
Established by the Big 30 Athletic Fund committee in 2019, the Big 30 Athletic Fund at CRCF supports the organization’s effort to provide scholarship funding to deserving student athletes in the region served by the Big 30, including Allegany and Cattaraugus counties as well as areas of northwestern Pennsylvania.
Kyle Mathes, of Portville Central School; Abigail Nuzzo, of Bradford Area High School; Sara Thomas, a graduate of Olean High School; and Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School’s John Visnesky received awards from the Big 30 Athletic Fund, each for $1,000.
The Big 30 Athletic Fund makes possible awards for four students graduating in the Big 30 region who have participated in at least two sports for all four years of high school.
Mathes will attend the Milwaukee School of Engineering to study electrical engineering. Nuzzo plans to study exercise science on a pre-physical therapy track at Houghton College. Thomas will attend Saint Leo University where she will study biology/biomedical and health sciences and business. Visnesky will attend St. Bonaventure University to study an undecided major.
Charlie Breindel, of Elk County Catholic High School; Anayah Park-Barker, of Olean High School; Julie Peterson of Ridgeway Area High School; and Portville Central School’s Luke Petruzzi received the Big 30 Senior Classic Scholarship for $500 each.
The Big 30 Senior Classic Scholarship, made possible by the Big 30 Athletic Fund, is for graduating seniors chosen to participate in the Big 30 Senior Classic basketball game, which is held annually at Portville Central School for Big 30 basketball senior standouts. Students must also submit an essay on what basketball means to them to the Big 30 Athletic Fund Committee.
Breindel plans to study environmental science at Penn State Behrend. Parks-Barker will attend Buffalo State College to study health and wellness. Peterson will study biology/pre-med as part of Saint Vincent College’s LECOM early acceptance program. Petruzzi will study business management at Rollins College.
Chesney Bradybaugh, of Kane Area High School and Eion Quigley, from Salamanca Central School received the Big 30 Athletic Fund’s Big 30 12th Man Scholarship for $500 each.
The 12th Man Scholarship is for one graduating senior each from New York and Pennsylvania who has participated in a high school football program for four years and has displayed exceptional effort and has been valuable to the program.
Bradybaugh will study maintenance electricity and construction technology at Triangle Tech College in Falls Creek, PA. Quigley will study welding and metal fabrication at the Jamestown Community College’s Jamestown Campus.
Donations can be made to the Big 30 Athletic Fund at CRCF, 301 North Union St., Suite 203 in Olean, or online at cattfoundation.org
Established in 1994, the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation is growing good by connecting donors to the causes they care about most in the region. Grants from the foundation support many areas, including education, scholarships, health care, the arts, community development, human service, and youth development. To learn more, call (716) 301-CRCF (2723), email [email protected], or visit online at www.cattfoundation.org. CRCF is also on Facebook (facebook.com/cattfoundation) and Twitter (@CattFoundation).
