School of Nursing Hawke-Petit Scholarship

Tammie Powell, graduate nurse, center, receives the first Jennifer Hawke-Petit Memorial Scholarship recently at graduation ceremonies for the Sharon Regional Health System School of Nursing Class of 2008. Lisa Bendig Pett, left, and Beverly Hailwood Kantz, classmates of Hawke-Petit in the School's Class of 1980, presented the scholarship.

Hawke-Petit, a Greenville native, and her two daughters were murdered in her Connecticut home July 23, 2007. Only her husband, Dr. William Petit, was able to survive a vicious beating and house fire.

Dr. Petit has expressed a wish that "If there is anything to be gained by the senseless deaths of my beautiful family, it's for all of us to go forward with the inclination to live with a faith that embodies action: help a neighbor, fight for a cause, love your family."

To make a donation to the scholarship fund, contact Larry Haynes, executive director of the Shenango Valley Foundation, at 724-981-9044 or go to
www.sv-foundation.org.