First scholarship recipients, State High seniors announced by Osagie Scholarship Endowment Committee
Elana Laing, a soon-to-be State College Area High School graduate, can still remember scrolling through her phone during a recent Sunday afternoon when an email alert caught her eye.
She didn’t expect to receive big news during an unassuming lunch at Perkins. But, as she flashed the screen to her mom, the news just stared back: Elana had become the first main $5,000 scholarship recipient from the Osaze Osagie Scholarship Endowment.
“I feel really excited and overjoyed that I can be honored as the recipient of this scholarship,” said Elana, who will attend Penn State in the fall to study both advertising/public relations and Spanish. “I do a lot of stuff and I don’t expect things in return so, when I do either get a return or a pat on the back, it’s very special. And I don’t take it lightly.”
Besides Elana’s weighted 4.12 GPA and academic honors such as induction into the Spanish Honor Society, she has also showcased multiple instances of community involvement and volunteerism — from working on suicide prevention with the local nonprofit Jana Marie Foundation to serving four years as a peer advocate and Little Lion ambassador to taking on an active role within her church. And a lot more.
She was joined by two other recipients, Catherine Wang and Jashaun Green, who each earned $500 scholarships. All three will officially graduate from State College Area on Friday.
“Elana, Catherine and Jashaun all exhibit the spirit of service and volunteerism that characterized our son Osaze’s life,” said Sylvester Osagie, Osaze’s father. “Iyun and I could not think of more worthy recipients whose caring, devotion and service to those in need reflect the principles embodied by our son. The scholarships will help these recipients pursue their educational dreams and opportunities, and, equipped with college degrees, continue their roles as servant leaders dedicated to enriching our communities.”
The Osagie College Scholarship Endowment was created in memory of Osaze, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by local police on March 20, 2019, after they arrived to serve a mental health warrant. Osagie’s family hoped the scholarship might celebrate Osaze’s life — he’s been described as a “gentle giant” — and not focus on his death.
An 11-person endowment committee was formed early last year and quickly launched a fundraising campaign, which reached its $100,000 goal earlier this year. The hope is to provide at least one $5,000 scholarship to a racially underrepresented SCASD senior every year, indefinitely, with priority given to those who focus on community service.
And, for Elana, it’s not difficult to see how she embodies that principle.
The local teenager has prepared meals for Out of the Cold, an organization that supports the homeless. She’s volunteered for PackHOPE Centre County, which sends food to refugees in the Middle East and elsewhere. She has helped her “proud” mother Leslie at the annual AAUW Used Book Sale to raise money toward scholarships for women. And that doesn’t include school — where she’s taken an active role in student government, most recently as vice president — or her church, where she’s volunteered for Vacation Bible School.
Even while recounting the story of how she first learned of the scholarship, at a local Perkins, she remembered — when asked to share what she recalled — how her waitress was going through a rough time. Elana and her mother tried to lift her up, she said, right before she came across the email announcing her scholarship.
“Being able to make others feel included and welcomed in spaces that they’re in makes you yourself feel included and feel a part of something bigger than yourself,” Elana added.
Her fellow scholarship recipients, Catherine and Jashaun, share similar traits. Catherine has devoted herself to fighting anti-Asian discrimination and even started a Cultural Celebrations and Event Planning Committee at the high school; Jashaun, a football captain, has been an active volunteer in the support of special needs children.
Catherine will attend the University of Washington, while Jashaun will attend Penn State. He is a preferred walk-on for the football team.
Online donations can continue to be made toward the endowment through Centre Foundation.
Members of the Osaze Osagie College Scholarship Endowment Committee include Rich Bundy; Mimi Barash Coppersmith; Felisa Preciado Higgins; Lorraine Jones; Nalini Krishnankutty; Lawrence Lokman; Ezra Nanes; Sylvester and Iyun Osagie; Rija Sabeeh and Charima Young.
