(New Castle, PA) A New Castle resident inspired as a teen to serve in the military, as did her older sister and – and grandfathers during warfare – is among a record 15 Butler County Community College students from Lawrence County selected to receive BC3 Education Foundation scholarships for the upcoming academic year and totaling $19,475.

Olivia Ehko, 37, a single mother raising a 14-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son, has a 3.79 grade-point average while pursuing an associate degree in BC3’s human resource management and administrative support career program.

She was among a record 400 BC3 students who applied for 165 BC3 Education Foundation scholarships for 2026-2027 and was chosen to receive three designated to student-veterans and totaling $3,180.

“It is so very overwhelming, so emotional,” Ehko said. “It goes a long way, especially being a single mother. It has helped me to remain debt-free, to cover textbooks and materials. I am a mother and I work only part time because I am finishing school, and they make this possible.

“Without that, I couldn’t have kept going in this. Luckily, I got the help. And BC3 makes it so easy to apply for these things.”

 

“They believe in BC3, and they are looking to help students in the community. They see what BC3 has done and what our graduates have done.”

Bobbi Jo Cornetti, scholarship and development coordinator, BC3 Education Foundation

 

Ehko was a pupil in the Mohawk Area School District through third grade, and after graduating from a northern Virginia high school enlisted in the Air Force, where injuries cut her military security force ambitions short.

The BC3 Education Foundation was established in 1985 as a charitable organization that acquires and manages private funds for the benefit of BC3. The foundation administers scholarships created by businesses, college alumni and employees, fraternal and other nonprofit organizations, and private individuals.

Architects, business leaders, county commissioners, educators, judges, physicians and other health care professionals, and university athletic directors and coaches are among those who began their education at BC3.

Donors have also designated their BC3 Education Foundation scholarships to be awarded to BC3 students such as breast cancer caregivers or survivors; first responders; high school dropouts who earned a general equivalency diploma; single parents with custody of a minor; single, separated or divorced females. Eight were available to the college’s student-veterans.

“They believe in BC3,” said Bobbi Jo Cornetti, the foundation’s scholarship and development coordinator, “and they are looking to help students in the community. They see what BC3 has done and what our graduates have done.

“They maybe heard about others who have helped students at BC3 and they reach out to us because they are looking for a way that they can help students too.”

 

 

10 New Castle residents picked for financial awards

Ten other New Castle residents were selected to receive financial awards from the foundation for 2026-2027.

Rihanna Boice, physical therapist assistant, was chosen for the $1,575 Christopher C. Rose M.D. Scholarship; Leshawn Day, health care science, the $3,000 Leanne Heaton Memorial Scholarship; Jaidyn Grigsby, engineering, the $500 Sunset Riders Motorcycle Club Scholarship; Rylee Haswell, health care science, the $1,290 Melvin W. Wilson Memorial Scholarship; and Carol Michalek, accounting, the $510 Michael A. Cocchiola Accounting Scholarship.

Mariah Minor, registered nursing, was selected for the $1,795 John W. Bacon Memorial Scholarship; Keisha Pack, psychology, the $515 Wainwright Scholarship; Gianna Rossi, early childhood education (Pre K-4), the $500 Sunset Riders Motorcycle Club Scholarship; Adriana Welsh, engineering, the $815 Alva Hill Scholarship; and Brandy West, business management, the $790 Ada M., Robert V. and Ruth A. ’70 and ’90 Scott Scholarship.

Edinburg resident Halen Bayuk, early childhood education (Pre K-4), was chosen to receive the $500 Mary Lou Tooch Family Scholarship; Ellwood City resident Bryce Steffler, registered nursing, the $900 Ellwood City Wolves Club Scholarship; Pulaski resident Nathan Nelson, physical therapist assistant, the $825 Spc. Ross A. McGinnis “Pay a Good Deed Forward” Scholarship; and New Wilmington resident Summer Haney, registered nursing, the $2,780 Kathy Clay Family Memorial Scholarship.

The college’s affordability, financial aid options and BC3 Education Foundation scholarships enabled 82 percent of BC3’s Class of 2026 to graduate debt-free.

Ehko has made the president’s list at BC3 three times for having earned a grade-point average of at least 3.75 following a semester, and the dean’s list once with a GPA between 3.5 to 3.74.

She was selected for the $1,470 Butler French and Belgian Club Scholarship, the $1,210 American Legion Post No. 117 Scholarship and the $500 American Legion Auxiliary Post No.117 Scholarship.

 

“I love BC3. I always tell everybody to go to BC3. It is amazing.”

Olivia Ehko, BC3 human resource management and administrative support student

 

Ehko and Nelson, 39, who served in the Army from 2007 to 2015, are among 68 student-veterans enrolled at BC3 this fall, according to Stella Smith, BC3’s veterans coordinator and associate director of financial aid.

Military service and patriotism, Ehko said, “runs in my family. We are definitely born with that.”

Her older sister, Camille Heinrich-Ledsome, served with the Naval Construction Force – as a Seabee – and was stationed in Biloxi, Miss., from 2004 to2008.

“I spent many summers down there with her as a teen,” Ehko said. “I knew what I was signing up for in the military. It was a found family. There was a lot of honor and integrity involved and I couldn’t wait to join.”

Fractures in her legs sustained during training exercises in San Antonio, Texas, disqualified her from continuing to serve in the military, Ehko said.

“I felt incomplete when I learned my time was going to be cut short,” Ehko said. “I had many plans for myself while serving in our military. It’s disappointing that I did not get a chance to fulfill some of those aspirations.”

She returned to New Castle to be closer to relatives, worked in management or other positions and enrolled in January 2024 at BC3 – where Camille earned an associate degree in business management in 2011.

“We’re about 10 years apart, so it is easy for me to see by example what worked for her,” Ehko said. “She said BC3 was very personable, friendly, the teachers were amazing, and the education was great and affordable. So when I was ready to go to school, I did not apply to or look anywhere else other than BC3. And I have no regrets.”

Students registered in any BC3 associate degree, certificate or workplace certificate program or who attend any BC3 location or study online are eligible for BC3 Education Foundation scholarships, Cornetti said.

Applications for 2027-2028 will be available in April.

 

“All the good feelings matched”

Students in BC3’s career programs such as human resource management and administrative support can develop the skills needed to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation.

Ehko works 30 hours per week in customer service. She expects to graduate from BC3 debt-free in May and seek a position in human resources.

“I love BC3,” she said. “I always tell everybody to go to BC3. It is amazing. All the teachers are wonderful. I have seen students at the beginning of the class say they’re having a difficult time getting a textbook, and the teacher will say, ‘See me after class.’ And I know they are trying to figure it out and help them.

“That’s just very honorable. That won me over. That was my very first semester. When I saw teachers act that way that was it for me. All the good feelings matched.”