On Tuesday, June 4th, scholarship recipients and donors gathered for the annual Scholarship Reception held at the Steuben County Community Foundation. Donors shared stories, and scholarship recipients put a face to the scholarship and shared their future plans with someone excited to support them. In some cases, it was a commitment to pay it forward. Others wanted to honor the inspiring legacy of a loved one. For the donors, it was exciting to see students who had deep passions for something they both valued. Students discussed the impact scholarships have on encouraging them to pursue their passions. Clea Miller shared that her scholarship helped her feel community members were investing in her future. Alexis Crawford expressed relief that she and her parents will have less to worry about. “It’s nice to know that there are people in the community who care about education,” said Grace Emberton.
Kourtney Fleckenstein, the recipient of the Susie Poor Memorial Teaching Scholarship, shared that the scholarship “means a lot to me because it invests in me as a teacher, which means someone already thinks I’ll be great at teaching.” She, like many others in attendance, was able to connect with her donor and understand the story behind her scholarship. Kerrigan Williams received the Leon Huss Memorial Scholarship, a scholarship for those involved in 4-H, and shared her love of horses and animals with her donor, Sharon Huss.
Steuben County Community Foundation is proud to congratulate all scholarship recipients, and we continue to be thankful for the generosity of our donors.