Mercer teen wins a full ride

This is the 10th year for the scholarship.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA STAFF
SHARON, Pa. -- Constance McCrory couldn't have been more surprised.
The 18-year-old Mercer woman was summoned to the chancellor's office at Penn State Shenango to learn she has been awarded a full scholarship through the Sharonsteel Foundation. "This is really exciting," she said.
McCrory is the 10th recipient of the four-year, full-tuition grant funded by the foundation. She can use the scholarship at any Penn State campus. The scholarship is valued at $10,200 this academic year. It will increase as tuition increases.
The scholarship is given to a Penn State student who has outstanding academic achievement, school and community involvement, financial need and recommendations.
"We look for students able to maintain their grades and able to remain involved in other activities," said Lori Darby, Sharonsteel Trust administrator.
Her background
Throughout high school, McCrory was an all-star softball player as well as being a member of several clubs and working two jobs. She is employed at the Corner Kitchen in Mercer.
"Everything is taken care of now. It feels like all of the years I worked hard in high school have paid off," McCrory said after receiving the scholarship in Chancellor Fred Leeds' office last week.
As part of the scholarship requirements, McCrory must keep her grades up and touch base with Steve Hessman, director of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations for Penn State Shenango.
McCrory is a Penn State Shenango freshman studying business, but she plans to change her major to elementary education.
"I want to come back and teach here and have an influence on children. I was attached to my teachers in elementary school. I really like kids and I really like teaching," she said.
McCrory lives in Mercer with her mother, Brenda McCrory.
"I can't believe it," Brenda McCrory said of the full scholarship. "I thought we were coming here to discuss potential other scholarships for down the road."