Ford dealer gives $5,000 scholarship to every applicant

Ford dealer Richard Bazzy's indecisiveness has helped dozens of students from his high school alma mater attend college.

In 2020, Bazzy, who owns three Shults Ford locations outside Pittsburgh, created a $5,000 annual scholarship intended for graduates of Steel Valley High School.

The next year, 11 students applied for the scholarship, which asks for a one-page essay on how their schooling prepared them to succeed. Bazzy couldn't choose just one winner, so he gave the full $5,000 to all 11 applicants.

In 2022, 18 students applied. Bazzy again awarded the scholarship to all of them. This year saw 26 applications, and once again, 26 oversized checks were presented at a ceremony this month.

"If I can help people, it's my responsibility to do that and especially for my high school," Bazzy, who didn't attend college after graduating in the 1970s, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for a story last week. "To me, it is a disappointment that I cannot do more. In this world today, the need is so great, and when it comes down to trying to set a path from A to B and in between the two points is financial hardship, it's our job to make sure that we help as many people as we can."

This year's recipients include Jennifer Nguyen, who plans to attend Drexel University in Philadelphia to become a physician's assistant, and Audrey Craycroft, who wants to major in psychology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

"Mr. Bazzy has provided some of our students with an opportunity that they may have not had otherwise," Steel Valley Principal John Strom said. "His generosity to our students and families is unmatched."

Bazzy, who was honored for his philanthropy by Ford Motor Co. at its 2023 Salute to Dealers awards, said he's not worried the scholarship will attract too many applicants for him to support all of them.

"It's not because we have so much money," he said. "It's because no matter what it would take, I'd find a way. I'd allocate different money somewhere, do something."