A scholarship for students studying urban forestry has been established at Pennsylvania College of Technology by a Chambersburg firm that employs two of the College's graduates.
The $500 annual scholarship, which will be awarded in the spring, is being provided by George Pogue, owner of Cumberland Valley Tree Service.
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be enrolled full-time in a course of study involving urban forestry and must demonstrate academic quality and financial need.
Cumberland Valley Tree Service is a regular recruiter at the fall and spring Career Expos at Penn College's Earth Science Center near Allenwood, which houses the School of Natural Resources Management.
The firm, which currently employs Penn College alumni Kevin L. Tressler of Loysville, a 2001 Forest Technology graduate, and Ian P. Groy of Muncy, a 2001 Landscaping/Nursery Technology graduate, is in the process of opening its third office in Pennsylvania in Adams County.
"Each semester at the Career Expos, we meet employers that have hired our graduates and are looking for more," said Dennis L. Correll, executive director of the Penn College Foundation. "Mr. Pogue inquired how he could personally help us with our mission by providing funds for those students interested in the arboriculture industry. Our conversation quickly turned to scholarship opportunities for those students who need some financial assistance in order to complete their degree.
"Within a matter of weeks, documents were signed, and we now have a new scholarship to benefit those students who wish to make urban forestry part of their career plans."
Scholarship funds such as the one established by Cumberland Valley Tree Service can be initiated at Penn College by calling Correll at (570) 320-8020, or by writing to him at One College Avenue, Williamsport, PA, 17701.