It’s scholarship season at Tyrone Area High School.

Tyrone seniors have over $100,000 in local scholarships available to them, and this month they are scrambling to finish their applications, some of which are due as early as March 7.

Some of the newest scholarships on the list are offered by the Adam Zook Foundation.

Founded in 2019 by family and friends of TAHS alum Adam Zook, the foundation supports local suicide prevention initiatives, as well as scholarships for Tyrone Area High School graduates.

Adam was a 2016 graduate of Tyrone High School and a student at Slippery Rock University. He was an avid runner and member of the TAHS cross country and track and field teams.

Zook was also involved in communications and the arts while a student at Tyrone. He was a writer and editor for the Eagle Eye News, a cast member in several TAHS Drama Club musical productions, and a member of both the Mock Trial and Speech team.

Three $500 scholarships have been established in Adam’s memory. Two are awarded annually to outstanding seniors in track and cross country, and the other is given to a Tyrone senior involved in journalism and/or communications.  This award was given for the first time last year.

The first recipient of the Adam Zook Memorial Journalism/Communications scholarship was the 2021-22 Eagle Eye Editor-in-Chief Ellie Oakes.

“Adam truly had a gift for both writing and speaking. He was a former Eagle Eye Editor-in-Chief and was set to be the Editor-in-Chief at the Slippery Rock University student newspaper before his senior year of college,” said Adam’s brother Haden Zook, who helped established the Adam Zook Foundation.

Oakes was involved in the Eagle Eye for three years. Several of her photos and stories won state and national awards.

“Words cannot describe how it felt when it was announced on Senior Excellence Night that I was the recipient of the scholarship. It was a very special moment and one of the highlights of my high school career. I am very honored to have received the scholarship, especially since I always used to look up to Adam when I was younger. Adam was such a special young man and it was touching to have received the gift in his honor,” said Oakes.

The Zook family hopes that the scholarships that the foundation provides will help students pursue their dreams in the same way Adam was pursuing his.

“We have criteria based on hard-working individuals in the communication field that share similar characteristics that Adam possessed. Our committee, as well as those who knew Adam best at Tyrone High, chose Ellie based on her hard work ethic, personality traits, and her ability to help those around her,” said Zook.

The 2022 winners of the cross country and track scholarships were 2022 grads, Stephanie Ramsey and Mackenzie Latchford.

Ramsey was honored and appreciative of the scholarship.

“I’m very grateful that I was chosen to receive this scholarship. Although I never knew Adam personally, I tried to be a good leader and inspire my teammates as he did,” said Ramsey.

Latchford was also proud to receive the scholarship in Adam’s name.

“The Adam Zook Foundation is such a wonderful cause. It brings awareness to suicide prevention initiatives within Tyrone and the surrounding community. It is so important to check in with one another because you never know what someone else might be going through,” said Latchford.

Members of the TAHS Class of 2023 who excel in any of these three areas are encouraged to apply for these scholarships, as well as the many others that are available only to Tyrone students.

“It was very important to Adam and he showcased both a natural ability and hard work in the journalism and communications field. It continues to be important to our family because of the active role that Adam had in high school and college,” said Zook.