Success Stories

Currently into just his second semester at Purdue University, Zazeric Bell is already making the most of his college experience. Bell, a recipient of the John J. Murphy Family Scholarship, Big 30 Charity Classic Scholarship and Bob and Barbara McCord Scholarship, is currently majoring in astronautical and aeronautical engineering and minoring in engineering business with plans to seek a project management certificate.

Ever since she was a senior at Portville Central School, Shayla Wilhelm, set her sights on the sky. The 2020 PCS valedictorian and John J. Murphy Family and Portville College scholarships recipient was not just a high achiever – she quite literally had dreams to be in the sky.

The pandemic has changed the college experience of many students, but for Christine Pagett, a 2019 Portville Central School graduate and John J. Murphy Family Scholarship recipient, the pandemic hasn’t interrupted her dedication to education.

In 2021, we are more grateful than ever for those in the medical field, working on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lydia Lukomski, a 2016 Portville College Scholarship recipient will soon be among them. Lukomski began her college career at Gannon University, where she studied biochemistry and biology, while playing on Gannon’s Division II women’s volleyball team.

Karly Welty starred on the court and athletic field in high school at Portville Central School. A 2020, PCS grad, Welty was also a standout in the classroom. She received three scholarship awards from CRCF, the Big 30 Senior Classic Scholarship, Portville College Scholarship and Gregory D. Spring Perseverance Scholarship

In his first year at the College of Charleston, Troy Brennan found a way to combine his majors in computer science and finance into a number of new entrepreneurial and education pursuits.

In the time of the COVID-19 outbreak we all celebrate the front-line health care workers going to work every day to provide crucial services. Taylor Lee, a 2016 Portville Central School graduate and Dr. Donald A. Wormer Family Scholarship recipient will soon be among those on the front lines.

Alice Li, a 2019 Burt and John J. Murphy Family Scholarship recipient and the student speaker at the 2019 Friends of the Foundation Luncheon, had a memorable freshman year at Boston College in 2020.

Joel Graves, a 2019 Olean High School graduate and recipient of the JoAnn Wehmeyer English Scholarship, completed a successful freshman year at SUNY ESF (College of Environmental Science and Forestry).

In 2018, Michelle Wohlers, an Allegany-Limestone Central School graduate, received the Joseph and Cecily Higgins Scholarship and Burt Scholarship from CRCF. Wohlers now majors in architecture at The University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning, while maintaining a busy schedule and compling a list of amazing activities and achievements. Wohlers sent us a list of some of the incredible things she's been up to since receiving her scholarships!

Darienne Slocum, a 2016 Portville Central School graduate and recipient of the John J. Murphy Family Scholarship and Dr. Donald A. Wormer Family Scholarship, has been hard at work managing her marketing and double biology and psychology minors.

Geoffrey Broadbent, a 2015 John J. Murphy Family Scholarship recipient, recently walked across to the commencement stage at St. Bonaventure University to receive a number of awards and honors, including one of the university’s most prestigious for a graduating student

Natalie Sova, a recipient of the 2018 Patricia McCarthy Memorial Scholarship and John J. Murphy Family Scholarship, has continued her active involvement outside of the classroom since graduating from Olean High School.

Ryan Schlosser is an environmental studies and economics major with a minor in outdoor studies and creative writing at Saint Lawrence University. In an interview with CRCF, Schlosser talks about his experience in a unique, semester-long study abroad experience in the Adirondack region that despite its geographic proximity to campus introduced him to a whole new world.

Megan Shumway recently took the meaning of “Growing Good” international. The Olean High School graduate and recipient of the John J. Murphy

From Olean High School to IBM, Francesca Bartimole is another CRCF scholarship success.

We recently had a chance to catch up with 2015 Daniel McCarthy Scholarship recipient and Archbishop Walsh Academy alumnus Christian Dougherty

In his first year at New York University’s prestigious Stern School of Business, Allegany-Limestone Central School graduate