DUBOIS – Clearfield Bank & Trust Company has recently made a commitment to support the educational pursuits of area students by establishing the Clearfield Bank & Trust Company Scholarship at Penn State DuBois. Clearfield Bank & Trust pledged $5,000 to the scholarship this year, and will make annual contributions to the fund, which will be distributed in its entirety to qualifying students each year.
This scholarship will provide recognition and financial assistance to outstanding undergraduate students enrolled or planning to enroll at Penn State DuBois who have superior academic records and a need for funds to help cover their college expenses. In an effort to support those in Clearfield Bank & Trust’s immediate area, students from Bedford, Blair, Centre, Clearfield, or Huntingdon counties will be given first preference.
“The DuBois Campus of the Pennsylvania State University has been part of the community for over 75 years and we are proud to be a supporter of the campus,” said Bill Wood, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Clearfield Bank & Trust Company. “As a locally owned community bank, we understand the importance of a secondary education. It provides graduates with opportunities that may not be available to those who have not obtained an advanced degree. We hope Clearfield Bank & Trust’s scholarship will help students achieve their aspirations in life.”
Penn State DuBois chancellor Melanie Hatch agreed with Wood, saying that higher education is very often the key to individual success. Though she added that scholarships like the one established by Clearfield Bank & Trust put that education within reach for so many. She said, “The support that Clearfield Bank & Trust has extended to us will have a tremendous impact on the lives of students who receive this scholarship. By contributing, each year, to this fund they’re helping students, who may not be able to afford a college education without the commitment Clearfield Bank & Trust has made.”
By establishing this scholarship, Clearfield Bank & Trust is also helping to support For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. The campaign’s top priority is keeping a Penn State degree affordable for students and families. The For the Future campaign is the most ambitious effort of its kind in Penn State’s history, with the goal of securing $2 billion by 2014. Penn State DuBois’ individual aim is to raise $12 million by 2014, and the campus is now at 80 percent of that goal.