The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford honored scholarship donors and recipients Friday at its annual Donor Scholarship Luncheon, a chance for the two groups to meet and share a meal.
So far during the 2022-23 academic year, 319 students have received $684,276 in donor scholarships.
Aisha Alzubi, a nontraditional senior biology major and pre-medicine student who lives in Bradford and hopes to become an anesthesiologist one day, was the student speaker.
“I was accepted into other universities, but none of those compared to how accommodating Pitt-Bradford was,” she said.
Alzubi is one of four students to receive the Bruce and Beverly Perry Yellow Dog Scholarship.
Also speaking was alumna Cheryl Lutz ’69-’71 and her husband, Rick, who have sponsored two scholarships and enjoy hosting students in their home each year for Dinner with a Panther.
“The fact that the students come from so many places always makes us ask, how did you end up at UPB?” Cheryl Lutz said, adding that for many, the answer is “scholarships.”
She read from a thank-you letter the couple received from one of their scholarship recipients, which said, “You were the deciding factor whether I would be able to graduate or not.”
Rick Lutz said, “All of our lives are enriched when we realize the importance of our gifts.” Then he encouraged his fellow donors, “Why not be witness to what your assets can help?”
New scholarships announced were the Joseph Bucher Memorial Scholarship, President Richard T. Esch ’83 Scholarship, Doc Freda Scholarship, National Fuel Gas and Seneca Resources Co. Scholarship, Marcellus Utica Gas Scholarship and the Thomas J. Sheeley Memorial Scholarship.
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