Five recent Olean High School graduates received scholarship awards recently from funds at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation that support OHS students pursing degrees in higher education.
Chris Halsey, Calla Katcher and Kamdyn McClain each received the Olean High School Alumni Association Scholarship.
The scholarship, $1,000 per year for up to four years, is for graduating seniors of OHS attending a post-secondary institution. Applications are reviewed by the OHS Alumni Association Scholarship committee which recommends the recipients.
Halsey will begin studies in chemistry at Jamestown Community College. Katcher will attend the Fashion Institute of Technology to study fashion business merchandising. McClain will study finance at the College of William and Mary.
Katcher also received the first award from the James A. and Joan E. Maguire Family Scholarship for $1,000.
The James A. and Joan E. Maguire Family Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to students graduating from Olean, Allegany-Limestone, Belfast Central High School or Archbishop Walsh Academy. Preference is for a hard-working student who shows potential and perseverance. Special consideration will be given to students who have faced a learning challenge.
McClain also received the inaugural JF20 Scholarship for $250.
Established by former Olean High School graduate and star football player Julio Fuentes, the JF20 Scholarship Fund exists to provide a scholarship for a graduating senior from Olean High School who participated on a varsity sports team with preference for a football player.
Byron Ring and Maryam Mirza received the Olean High School Class of 1961 Scholarship for $1,500 each.
Established by Duane A. Geuder, a 1961 Olean High School alumnus, and his classmates, the scholarship honors the class and its teachers, in particular Norm Utecht and Mabel Wilson. The $1,500 scholarship is given to one male and one female student who has the top GPA in their math and science classes.
Ring plans to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology to study mechanical engineering technology. Mirza will begin her studies in human development on a pre-medical track at the Unviersity of Rochester. She plans then to attend Cornell University, where she has been accepted and admitted, for her second year.
Mirza also received the Russel F. Greenawalt and Elizabeth Page Greenawalt Scholarship.
As a last dollar scholarship this award covers the total of Cornell University tuition, room and board less any other scholarships received. This award is available to an Olean High School senior who demonstrates the strongest academic record of those accepted to Cornell and is renewable up to four years. Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress in order to renew.
This award is named in honor of Mr. Greenawalt, a Cornell alumnus, and his wife, Elizabeth Page Greenawalt, who both attended Olean City Schools. His father, William C. Greenawalt was superintendent of Olean City School District for 20 years.
Donations can be made any of these funds at CRCF, 301 North Union St., Suite 203, Olean, NY 14760 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).
