The LeRoy G. Erickson Memorial Scholarship is designed to aid graduating high school seniors of Bradford Area High School who do not have the private means to attend college or other recognized institutions offering professional and technical training. Under Mr. Erickson’s will, substantial scholarships (from $500 to several thousands of dollars) are awarded annually over four years of college or the appropriate number of years for a technical or undergraduate degree.
This program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarship and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor, and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team. Awards are granted without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or national origin.
LeRoy G. Erickson was born in England on April 20, 1912, and moved to Bradford at the age of three. His father died when he was young and he lived with his maternal family in Riterville (Mt. Alton area) graduating from Bradford High School in 1930 and from the University of Pittsburgh in 1934. He worked in the Bradford National Bank from his school days until his premature death in March 1963 at the age of 50. At that time he was a Vice President and Cashier of the Bradford National Bank, now PNC Bank on Main St. in Bradford, Pennsylvania. He was married to Marcia Parkhurst Erickson Lorch who died in November, 1990. They had no children.
In an effort to determine what motivated Mr. Erickson to establish a scholarship fund for Bradford Area students, numerous people who knew him were contacted. These included a previous Bradford National Bank Director, his secretary, other bank employees and friends. The comments were universally the same. He was described as quiet, conscientious, warm, sympathetic, concerned about those in need and interested in helping others. Bank employees did not hesitate to share problems with him and often bank customers seeking loans would wait to talk to Mr. Erickson because of his tendency to “go the extra mile.” He had a work ethic and apprised students to “work hard because it pays to get along in school.”
With such a profile, it is not surprising that Mr. Erickson left a will that provided for his wife and then arranged for the remainder of his estate to assist promising young people who need help in attaining advanced education. Bradford is fortunate to have such citizens who care for their young and look to the future.
Applicants to the LeRoy G. Erickson Memorial Program must:
Various amounts are determined by need. Last year, the average payment to each recipient was $3,223.09. Award amounts are determined at the discretion of the Awards Committee and awards are renewable for up to three years, or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first, based on maintaining a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) and full-time enrollment.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Awards will be announced by late July.
Scholarship checks are processed in early August.
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
Financial need, as determined by Scholarship America, will be considered. Recipients must demonstrate need.
Scholarship America will evaluate and forward all eligible applicants to PNC Bank, Trustee. An outside scholarship committee will review applicant data, including all essays responses, and select recipients. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
One online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf no later than April 4, 2024 3:00 pm Central Time.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
