Community Foundation announces EQT Scholarship recipients
Greene County students, Rowan Barto of Waynesburg and Gavin Pratt of Carmichaels, have been selected as recipients of the Greene County EQT Scholarship, according to a Community Foundation of Greene County news release.
Barto received an EQT Scholarship award valued at up to $72,000 over four years of college. The daughter of Mark and Christy Barto, she is a graduate of Waynesburg Central High School. She plans to major in mechanical engineering at West Virginia University.
In school, she was president of student council, and a member of the National Honor Society, the Alpha-Beta Club, prom committee, Chess Club and Spanish Club. She participated in the marching band, concert band, jazz ensemble, saxophone ensemble, concert choir and choir ensemble, and was selected to All-County Band and All-County Choir.
She also volunteered for numerous community activities.
Barto said mechanical engineering can be a stepping stone to many other branches, including the fossil fuel industry, where the mechanical engineers are important in keeping equipment running by building and repairing any piece of equipment.
Pratt, the son of Paxton and Kim Pratt of Carmichaels, received a $1,000 EQT Scholarship.
He plans to attend Seton Hill University with a major in engineering. He participated in baseball and travel baseball, weight lifting, Esports, French Club and the National Honor Society.
Pratt’s pursuit of engineering, particularly in the automotive sector, would impact the fossil fuel industry by improving the efficiency and performance of combustion engines, while reducing emissions to improve air quality
“Even though we received only two complete applications for the scholarship this year, the selection committee was impressed with the quality of the two applications,” said Lucy Corwin, chairperson of the CFGC scholarship selection committee. “The eligible students who applied should be proud of their accomplishments in high school, and we are confident they will succeed as they further their education.”
The EQT Scholarship is open to graduating high school senior students who are residents of Greene County and are planning to purse a degree in a field that supports the fossil fuel industry, such as computer science or information technology, civil, chemical or petroleum engineering, energy or land management, environmental science, geology, safety science or welding.
Applicants must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and submit and essay on why they had chosen to pursue a field in support of the fossil fuel industry and how they plan to contribute to that industry, along with a letter of recommendation and list of extra-curricular school and community service activities.
The EQT Scholarship was established by The EQT Foundation at CFGC in 2019 as a non-endowed fund to provide up to the six scholarships for local students. The scholarship provides one award of up to $72,000 – up to $18,000 per school year for four years of post-secondary education. The other five scholarships are one-time $1,000 awards.
“We are so proud of Rowan and Gavin for all they have accomplished throughout their high school careers,” said Ellen Rossi, president of the EQT Foundation. “Our high school seniors were faced with many challenges this year, but the perseverance of these two students is astonishing. And we are equally grateful to the Community Foundation of Greene County for helping us to facilitate this scholarship program for the benefit of our neighbors in Greene County.”
“We are so pleased to partner with the EQT Foundation for a third year in providing the EQT Scholarship,” said Beth Hellems, chairwoman of the CFGC board of directors. “The scholarship is a demonstration of their commitment to the continuing education of our youth.”