Penn Hills student-athletes awarded Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation scholarships

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, July 26, 2018 | 10:48 PM

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Pursuing higher education comes at a cost, and any financial help is greatly appreciated in order to reach academic dreams.

Two Penn Hills student-athletes recently learned they were selected as recipients of the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation scholarship.

Tim Hoolahan and Alyssa Lucas were among the 18 recent high school graduates selected for the 2018 Penguins Foundation Scholarships.

Each scholarship is valued at $1,500 for the student’s first year of college, and an additional $1,000 is awarded for the student’s second year of college if a 3.0 GPA is maintained and a minimum of 24 credit hours are earned.

Hoolahan, who played soccer and baseball at Penn Hills, will attend CCAC-Boyce for two years before going to either Pitt or Kent State. Hoolahan wants to study aerospace or mechanical engineering.

“It meant the world to me and my family. Regardless to the college I was going to it would help. I can’t even describe the feeling of getting all of these scholarships,” Hoolahan said.

“I’d like to thank the Pittsburgh Penguins Scholarship committee for selecting my application. It’s going to be put to very good use, and I’m going to make everyone who selected me very proud.”

Hoolahan, who has played baseball since age 4, had a .412 batting average with four doubles, one triple, 13 RBIs and 12 runs scored for the Indians during his senior season.

Penn Hills, which was winless during Hoolahan’s junior season, finished 6-10 overall with one win in Section 2-6A.

Hoolahan, who played soccer since his sophomore year, was a midfielder for Penn Hills last season.

“I remember watching the World Cup with my friends; from there I played the FIFA 14 World Cup game. I hit the soccer field, and I fell in love instantly,” Hoolahan said.

Aside from playing two sports, Hoolahan managed to keep good grades while working two jobs and volunteering at school and his church.

Lucas, who played soccer at Penn Hills, will pursue a nursing degree at Kent State.

“I have a lot of nurses in my family,” she said. “It’s always something that I’ve been passionate about. Helping people and taking care of people, that is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Lucas, who has played soccer since age 3, was a defender on a Penn Hills team that qualified for playoffs after finishing 6-12 overall. Penn Hills’ season ended after a 6-1 loss to Penn-Trafford, the WPIAL Class 4A champion, in the first round of the playoffs.

“Coming out of having only a varsity team one year and then having two teams the next year then getting better and making the playoffs, I hope for the future years to come, we work to get better and better, remain competitive and go further in the playoffs,” Lucas said.

“For the kids that were younger than me that looked up to me, I hope what I taught them they instill into the younger girls that look up to them.”

Aside from soccer, Lucas has been involved in dance since she was 3 years old and participated in the Best Buddies program.

Penn Hills classmate Leanne Boody joined Hoolahan and Lucas as one of 18 recipients of the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation scholarship.

Andrew John is a freelance writer.