Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Olivia Sechriest presents the inaugural John H. Sechriest Memorial Scholarship to Warren Area High School Senior Kaden Kelly-Pojar.

For decades, John Sechriest educated Warren County students — as a teacher, a principal, and administrator, and the director of the St. Bonaventure Dual Enrollment project in Russell.

A scholarship in his memory will now continue that legacy of helping students succeed.

“This is John’s way of continuing to take care of the students of Warren County,” his wife, Olivia, said.

“Throughout his professional career, John Sechriest always strove to do what was best for the students,” according to the introduction to the new John H. Sechriest Memorial Scholarship. “This scholarship honors and memorializes his work in education and allows him to continue to provide for the district.”

“The 2023-2024, scholarship, in the amount of $15,000 a year, is for a student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the field of education, science, or agriculture,” according to the application. “It is intended to help a student who would not otherwise have the means to attend a four-year college.”

The requirements are strict — obtain and maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA in high school and college; write an essay stating the following: why they are interested in the scholarship, what educational degree they intend to pursue, and how they intend to utilize their educational degree; plan a project that will serve the community of Warren County; present the project to the scholarship committee for approval; and complete the project before the start of their fourth year of college.

The inaugural recipient of the award is Warren Area High School Senior Kaden Kelly-Pojar.

Kelly-Pojar has earned $15,000 toward the first year of his post-secondary education.

He plans to attend Penn State University and major in astrophysics and astronomy — perhaps becoming a professor some day. As long as he stays on track with his grades and lives up to the other requirements of the scholarship, he will continue to receive $15,000 per year.

When Kelly-Pojar was considering a project, he had a number of areas he wanted to address — education and mental health among them. “Tutoring was the only activity I could truly realize,” Kelly-Pojar said. “I am a tutor.”

He plans to create a zero-cost tutoring network for students in Warren County. That plan was enthusiastically approved by the scholarship committee.

“It’s adaptive,” he said. “It can grow to fit the community.”

“It breaks my heart that so many people in this community can’t access the educational resources that they need and deserve,” he said. “That extra push is sometimes all that they need, but they are often denied.”

“It’s my mission to provide a linking point between the struggling student around our area and willing and capable tutors that can help them,” Kelly-Pojar said. “The bulk of the tutors will be retired teachers and high school students who would like the education experience.”

He cited the growing teacher shortage and the pandemic as factors that are making a tutoring network more valuable now than ever.