Minority college students, both current and prospective, at Penn State Altoona are being sought for eight full-tuition scholarships.

Endowed by Sheetz Inc. Executive Steve Sheetz and his wife, Nancy, the scholarships aim to create opportunities for the next generation of community business leaders.

“We want to help these students prepare to be good leaders and to be an asset to their own communities,” Sheetz said.

The creation of the scholarships was announced by Sheetz on Wednesday at the Freedom Fighters Gala for the NAACP Blair County Chapter.

Each of the eight scholarships, Sheetz said, will be named after a person of color in Blair County who “made a lasting impact on their community.”

Sheetz said he created the scholarships after former Blair County NAACP President Donald E. Witherspoon passed away Dec. 26, 2020.

Witherspoon’s work was “inspiring,” Sheetz said, adding he wanted to continue Witherspoon’s legacy and create more opportunities for minorities. “Don was such a great person,” Sheetz said. “He was loved by all, and he was a great supporter of all the communities that he served.”

The first of eight scholarships was named in Witherspoon’s memory, and during the Freedom Fighters Gala, Sheetz introduced the scholarships’s inaugural recipient, Alana Smith.

Smith, who is a native of Philadelphia, is a first-year student at Penn State Altoona and is majoring in psychology.

She is also studying a minor in entrepreneurship, which Sheetz said is a requirement for the scholarship.

Additional requirements for the scholarship include community service hours, participating in a mentorship program and holding at least a 3.2 grade-point average.

“This will ultimately create opportunities to help prepare these students for a fulfilling life,” Sheetz said.

A second scholarship will be named after Zane Gates, a Peopleone Health doctor who is the co-founder of Empower360.

Gates said he was honored by the distinction and will continue to help carry on the legacy of Witherspoon and others.

“We owe it to everyone to be like Don, to think like Don and to love like Don,” Gates said. “We will soon all learn that we are all swimming in the same pool. Together we can change this world with love, not hate.”

Mirror Staff Writer Calem Illig is at 814-946-7535.