Five students awarded one-time scholarship in memory of former teacher
Mark Hofmann | 蘑菇视频
Four students with the Connellsville Area Career and Technical School were each awarded $500 for the one-time memorial scholarship for former teacher Betsy Haas, who passed away early this year. Pictured (from left) are students Declan Peterson, Chasity Colbert, retired teacher Pam Lowe, students Cheyenne Aultz and Daisy Porterfield.
Mark Hofmann | 蘑菇视频
Mallory Orndorff (left), a senior at Connellsville Area Senior High School, accepts a scholarship from former teacher Pam Lowe in memory of Betsy Haas, a teacher with the Connellsville Area School District who passed away early this year.
Friends, family and former students of a beloved teacher at the Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center helped five students with a one-time memorial scholarship in her name.
Betsy Haas passed away in January after serving 44 years at the Connellsville Area School District as an elementary teacher in the district as well as a substitute teacher after her retirement for another four years.
鈥淪he substituted here, and she loved it here,鈥� said Pam Lowe, another retired teacher and friend of Haas鈥�. 鈥淪he loved teaching.鈥�
Lowe said that one of Haas蘑菇视频 favorite activities while teaching was reading to her students, especially poetry and stories to third-grade students during her lunch duty.
鈥淎nd those kids to this day still talk about that,鈥� Lowe said.
Lowe said another former teacher who worked with Haas thought of starting a one-time memorial scholarship in Haas蘑菇视频 name as it would be something special to do in her memory rather than sending flowers.
With that, Haas蘑菇视频 friends, family and even former students rallied together to raise $4,000 for the scholarship.
鈥淲e had a tremendous response,鈥� Lowe said. 鈥淚 was getting checks and checks and checks.鈥�
Not only was the response big, it was also quick as Lowe said they were able to have everything finalized for the scholarships by April.
The result was four students at the career and technical center each receiving a $500 check to go on to further study what they鈥檝e learned at the center.
They include Chasity Colbert, who will study nursing at Westmoreland County Community College; Daisy Porterfield and Declan Peterson, who will both study culinary arts at Westmoreland County Community College, and Cheyenne Aultz, who will study welding at Laurel Business Institute.
A $2,000 scholarship also went to a student who will go on to study education, and was awarded to Mallory Orndorff at Connellsville Area Senior High School, who will attend the University of Pittsburgh.
Lowe said Haas, who was always independent and didn鈥檛 want people to make a fuss over her or do things for her would actually have been very pleased with the scholarships given in her name.
鈥淚 think she would be thrilled because someone else was benefiting,鈥� Lowe said.