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The Steel Valley High School Class of 2022 was awarded over $275,000 in college scholarships during the district’s annual honors awards ceremony on Thursday, May 5. The Dr. Lawrence A. Griffin Senior Honors Award Ceremony celebrates Steel Valley seniors who have maintained a minimum overall grade point average of 3.25 and who have been selected to receive a scholarship award from a local business, organization, alumni or community member.
This year, 36 sponsors teamed up to donate scholarships to members of the Class of 2022.
Mr. Shawn McCallister, Steel Valley Activities/Athletic Director and one of the organizers of the event, said he is extremely proud of the students and thanked all of the community members who took part in this event to help support the Steel Valley students.
“I am truly humbled by the philanthropy of the scholarship sponsors. This year, our students were awarded over $275,000 through the generosity of the community business leaders, alumni, and a variety of other donors. We had an overwhelming amount of awards this year and we are grateful to all of the donors for their kindness,” Mr. McCallister said. “It was also great to have our teachers, administrators, and school board members take time out of their day to share in this memorable experience with our seniors. We are all so proud of the graduating class of 2022.”
Last year, Steel Valley High School alumnus Mr. Richard Bazzy, the president and owner of Shults Ford, presented 11 seniors with $5,000 scholarships. This year, Mr. Bazzy outdid himself, as he donated $5,000 scholarships to 18 members of the Steel Valley Class of 2022.
“Mr. Bazzy is a truly caring individual who has been very generous to our students over the past two years by donating $145,000 to offset their educational costs,” Mr. McCallister said. “We are extremely proud to call him a friend of Steel Valley. Yee Haw Mr. Bazzy; we appreciate you.”
The Shults Ford Scholarship Fund was awarded to Benjamin Novotny, Brooke Weber, Carson Cook, Chamarra Ford, Dacia Hruska, Dakota Nicholson, Dylan Huynh, Emma Koval, Kathryn Ligeros, Kelsey Salopek, Lexie Zuger, Madisyn Faux, Riley Furrick, Sara Katanick, Soraya Gibbs, Sydney McLaughlin, Tyler Wellman and Veronica Brocato.
Among the awards handed out at the ceremony was the William V. Campbell Duquesne Scholarship Award, a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to Duquesne University. The award was endowed by Bill Campbell in memory of the late William V. Campbell, a Homestead native who was later the chairman of the board at Intuit. This year’s recipient was Katheryn Ligeros.
Steel Valley alumnus Luke Getsy, recently named the offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears of the NFL, and his wife Tina, presented a $10,000 scholarship to Dacia Hruska.
The seniors and their parents/guardians, school board members, administrators, teachers and scholarship presenters enjoyed an evening full of wonderful accolades. Senior class president Riley Furrick welcomed the attendees and Molly Krupa, filling in for valedictorian Ben Novotny who was unable to attend, thanked the parents, teachers, administration, and most importantly, all of the sponsors for their generous scholarship donations.
The Steel Valley School District would like to thank the following award sponsors and extend a warm congratulations to all of the recipients below.
Annual School Board Graduating Senior Award
Benjamin Novotny
Joseph R. Havrilla Citizenship Award
Lexi Wallace
Valedictorian Award
Benjamin Novotny
Scholar/Athlete Award
Justin Chau
Molly Krupa
Tribute to Veterans Memorial Day Award
Dacia Hruska
Roger “Butch” Pratt Memorial Award
Dylan Karstetter
Kelsey Salopek
Betty Hogg Memorial Award
Abigail Tester
Homestead District Lions Club Award
Benjamin Novotny
Riley Furrick
Lions Club Community Award
A'ja Morant
Homestead District Lions Scholarship Award
Tyler Wellman
Drew Martin Memorial & Scholarship Fund
Justin Chau
Veronica Brocato
Vitalant Blood Donation Scholarship
Kelsey Salopek
Lexie Zuger
Charlton Award
Madisyn Faux
Garden Club of Munhall Scholarship
Riley Furrick
Green Funeral Home Essay Award
Benjamin Novotny
Sara Katanick
Sydney McLaughlin
Tyler Wellman
Steel Valley Rotary Club Award
Riley Furrick
Jacquelyn Konop-Buckley Memorial Scholarship
Kathryn Ligeros
Susan Satriano Memorial Scholarship
Kathryn Ligeros
Carmen Marini Memorial Tuition Scholarship
Benjamin Novotny
Carmen Marini Memorial Book Scholarship
Lexie Zuger
Jack Kelly Memorial Scholarship
Abigail Tester
Betty Davis Scholarship
Madisyn Faux
Waterfront Scholarship
Tyler Wellman
Randy Zirkle Memorial Scholarship
Dakota Nicholson
Geri Palmieri Memorial Scholarship
Veronica Brocato
Helen Laughran Memorial Nursing Scholarship
Ocean Horvwalt
Bernard “Dan” Pishinsky Annual Math/Comp Sci Scholarship
Soraya Gibbs
John P. Merisko Scholarship
Benjamin Novotny
Emma Koval
Sara Katanick
Tyler Wellman
The Brierly Heights Women’s Club Scholarship
Emaya Coleman
Molly Krupa
The Mayor Bodnar & Jane D. Bodnar Memorial Scholarship
Brooke Weber
Danyl Settles Scholarship
Benjamin Novotny
Emaya Coleman
Best of Batch Book Stipend
Kathryn Ligeros
Kelsey Salopek
Veronica Brocato
Luke & Tina Getsy Scholarship
Dacia Hruska
J. Lewis Shannon Duquesne Scholarship Award
Dacia Hruska
William V. Campbell Duquesne Scholarship Award
Kathryn Ligeros
Richard Bazzy’s Shults Ford Scholarship Fund
Benjamin Novotny
Brooke Weber
Carson Cook
Chamarra Ford
Dacia Hruska
Dakota Nicholson
Dylan Huynh
Emma Koval
Kathryn Ligeros
Kelsey Salopek
Lexie Zuger
Madisyn Faux
Riley Furrick
Sara Katanick
Soraya Gibbs
Sydney McLaughlin
Tyler Wellman
Veronica Brocato