Centre County is offering scholarships to encourage new emergency responder volunteers in Centre County. These scholarships can be used for any certificate or degree program offered by Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology (CPI) or South Hills School of Business and Technology. At the discretion of the review committee, these scholarships may also be used to cover the costs of receiving an EMS certificate. Successful applicants will be eligible for scholarships of up to $2,500 per academic year.

To be eligible for the Centre County Emergency Responder Scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  •  Reside in Centre County
  • Volunteer for a recognized Centre County based, volunteer emergency responder company (fire company, fire police, EMS, etc.) for at least three months before the next academic year begins.
  • A new emergency responder volunteer shall be defined as anyone 17 or older who has not served as a volunteer or paid member of a volunteer emergency responder company in Centre County for the prior two calendar years. Volunteers who served as junior volunteers or under 18 volunteers will be eligible if they become an active adult volunteer. New county residents who had served as a volunteer in a different county would be considered a new emergency responder volunteer.
  • Scholarship recipients are expected to remain on active duty through the end of the academic year of the scholarship.
  • Due to the special circumstances of EMS services, anyone who is a new applicant to an EMS company, whether for a paid, non-management position or any volunteer position, will be considered as a volunteer.
  • Applicants must be accepted into a post-secondary program at either Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology (CPI) or South Hills School of Business and Technology.

Centre County is partnering with Centre Foundation to implement the new scholarship. Centre Foundation will manage both the scholarship application and award process and will pay scholarships directly to Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology (CPI) or South Hills School of Business and Technology, depending on which school an awardee will be attending. The Centre County Training Center Advisory Board Committee and the County Commissioners will act as the review committee for the scholarship.

To apply, go to https://centre-foundation.academicworks.com/users/sign_in. Register as an applicant and then search for the Centre County Emergency Responder Scholarship. For more information, please contact Centre Foundation at 814-237-6229.