OLEAN – Seven area graduates were recently awarded scholarships from funds stewarded by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Olean High School graduates Finnian Caya, Miley Crawford, Ava West and Dickson Yang were awarded the Mary Elizabeth Smith Scholarship. Crawford and Yang received $1,000. Caya and West received $700.

This scholarship was established through the estate of Mary-Elizabeth Smith as part of the Olean City School District Scholarship Fund to support graduating Olean High School seniors annually. Caya plans to study mechanical engineering at the University at Buffalo. Crawford plans to study electrical and software engineering at Robert Morris University. West plans to study psychology at St. John Fisher University. Yang plans to study finance at Bentley University.

AnnBella Conkey of Portville Central School received the Signe H. Johnson Scholarship for $1,100. The scholarship, established by the trust of Signe H. Johnson, is for a Portville Central School senior with preference for a student pursuing a degree in teaching or who has strong educational/career goals. Ms. Johnson taught for many years at Portville Central School and Olean High School.

Conkey plans to study exercise science at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

Isabelle West and Ava Finch, both of Olean High School, received the Signe, Svenborg, Agnes and Selma Johnson Scholarship for $1,200.

Established through the trust of Signe H. Jonson, this scholarship is given to Olean High School seniors with preference given to students who have strong educational/career goals or who plan to pursue a degree in teaching. The scholarship is named for Johnson and her sisters, Svenborg, Agnes and Selma, all of whom were Olean High School teachers. Finch plans to study speech language pathology at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. West plans to study physical therapy at Nazareth University.

The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation is the area’s supportive, responsive and trusted community foundation. Established in 1994, CRCF is growing good by connecting donors to the causes they care about most in the region. Grants from the foundation support many areas, including education, scholarships, health care, the arts, community development, human service, and youth development. To learn more, call (716) 301-CRCF (2723), email foundation@cattfoundation.org, or visit online at www.cattfoundation.org. CRCF is also on Facebook (facebook.com/cattfoundation) and Twitter (@CattFoundation).