Massena Graduates Aid Their Hometown by Helping Future Generations Attend SUNY Canton

Several Massena Central alumni have banded together to help create a new future for recent graduates of their high school. With the very first recipient of the Massena Alumni Scholarship selected at SUNY Canton, the founding donors are now looking for further endowment support.

“Massena is an example of a great community that has lost its industrial base, leaving many students without funds to attend college,” said Alex Sabo, a scholarship patron.

Scholarship Donors: Pictured (l to r) are Guilford ‘Gil’ White (SUNY Canton class of 1968), SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran, with donors Alex Sabo and Raymond Boushie. White, Sabo and Boushie have created the Massena Alumni Scholarship for recent graduates of Massena Central High School to attend SUNY Canton.

While searching for a way to help his hometown, Sabo was encouraged by Canton College Foundation Board Member, alumnus and longstanding patron and fellow Massena Central alumnus Guilford ‘Gil’ White (SUNY Canton class of 1968) to create a scholarship. “We selected SUNY Canton because of its close proximity to Massena and also because it offers both two-year and four-year degree programs that meet the needs of more students,” Sabo said.

He was then joined in his effort by fellow classmate Raymond Boushie. In addition to individually funding scholarships, the group of donors has raised about a third of a $100,000 endowment.

“So far, we’ve all been Massena graduates from the 1950s,” Sabo said. “We’re trying to reach a wider group of people to support this endeavor, or even consider making a scholarship of their own. We think more Massena High School graduates will be inclined to attend college if financial support is available to them.”

The three donors’ initial efforts have generated an inaugural scholarship for Fall 2019. Frederick Dashnaw, enrolled in the Construction Technology Management program, received funding assistance for his freshman year. Dashnaw is a second-generation SUNY Canton student who aspires to become a building inspector.

 “This helped me achieve my plan to attend SUNY Canton,” he said. “I’d like to thank the donors who made this possible. I would definitely give back to this endowment after I’m out of college.”

For more information about the Massena Alumni Scholarship endeavor, please contact the SUNY Canton College Foundation and Alumni Association at 315-386-7082 or email foundation@canton.edu.