For Immediate Release

July 7, 2025

CONTACT:

Tiffany Thomason, Public Relations Coordinator tthomason@foundationhoc.org 315-240-4772

Connor Arthur Lynskey Memorial Scholarship Fund Announces 2025 Recipients

UTICA, NY – The Connor Arthur Lynskey Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties announced this year’s recipients of awards to graduating seniors from high schools in Herkimer and Oneida counties.

The scholarships were based on academic and leadership qualities, with preference given to those entering a medical profession, as well as those with athletic abilities and strength in character. Twenty-one students graduating from nine high schools plan to attend a wide range of colleges and universities.

Connor Arthur Lynskey Memorial Academic Award for Oneida/Herkimer Counties

  • Catherine Bartlett, Town of Webb School District, Colgate University

  • Edmond Yang, Waterville High School, John Hopkins University

  • Matthew Yardley, Whitesboro High School, St. Lawrence University

  • Natalie Herzog, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Senior High School, Mohawk Valley Community

    College

  • Olivia Hooker, Camden Senior High School, Villanova University

  • Sawyer Michel, Whitesboro High School, Cornell University

  • Sofia Sherwood, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Senior High School, Nazareth University

    Connor Arthur Lynskey Memorial Athletic/Character Award for Oneida/Herkimer Counties

  • Analyce Grabowski, West Canada Valley Senior High School, University of Notre Dame

  • Anthony Tobiasz, Whitesboro High School, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

  • Ean Piaschyk, Remsen Senior High School, Siena College

  • Haley Parker, Town of Webb School District, LeMoyne College

  • Madison Haver, Poland High School, Clarkson University

  • Sarah Mullen, Whitesboro High School, Syracuse University

    Joey R. Ventura Tradesman Award

• Aiden Kraeger, Holland Patent High School, SUNY Cobleskill

Connor Arthur Lynskey Memorial Academic Award for Holland Patent Central School District

CONTACT:

Tiffany Thomason, Public Relations Coordinator tthomason@foundationhoc.org 315-240-4772

  • Caleb Savery, University at Buffalo

  • Isabella Hobin, Rochester Institute of Technology

  • Juliana DelPico, LeMoyne College

  • Tyler Tyldesley, Stony Brook University

    Connor Arthur Lynskey Memorial Athletic/Character Award for Holland Patent Central School District

  • Chloe Swift, Clarkson University

  • Lillian Boris, High Point University

  • Peyton Roberts, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

    The scholarship fund was established in memory of Connor, a 2017 Holland Patent Central School District graduate and pre-med student whose life was tragically taken by a drunk driver on August 11, 2018. The scholarship fund aims to keep his memory alive and help medical and high school students to further their education. In 2022, the “Joey R. Ventura Tradesman Award” was added in memory of Joey, who was an accomplished local welding instructor who passed away unexpectedly in 2021.

    Since the fund’s creation in 2018, it has awarded over $80,000 to students enrolled in colleges, universities, and certificate programs, as well as additional awards to students enrolled in the Upstate College of Medicine Early Assurance Program, with an emphasis on assisting students in the Rural Medical Doctor program. Connor was enrolled in this Upstate program and planned to become a rural doctor. In 2022, the scholarship fund partnered with the Community Foundation to grant the high school awards in his honor.

    “As a family, our goal is to keep Connor’s memory alive for years to come through these memorial awards,” explained Connor’s uncle, Don Lynskey. “The mission of ‘Connor’s Way’ is to financially assist students with values and characteristics similar to Connor’s through these scholarships. We are striving to raise the funds to establish long-term endowments at both the Community Foundation and at Upstate Medical University to continue these memorial award programs in perpetuity.”

    The scholarship program is funded by the annual Connor’s Way 5-Mile Scenic Memorial Run/Walk in Hinckley, which follows the route that Connor routinely ran. The 8th annual run/walk will take place on Sunday, September 21, 2025. Participants that register by September 3rd will receive a t-shirt included in the cost of their registration.

 

This year’s event will also include a free Kids’ 1⁄2 Mile Fun Run, sponsored by Bruce F. Daniels, P.C. Registration for the Run/Walk and Kids’ Fun Run, as well as sponsorship opportunity details, are available at connorsway.com.

“Connor’s Way is a unique 5-mile run/walk in the foothills of the Adirondacks that features beautiful, wooded terrain on the course that Connor loved to run,” said Lynskey. “We are proud to continue this annual event in memory of Connor.”

For more information on the Connor Arthur Lynskey Memorial Scholarship Fund, visit foundationhoc.org/connor.

 

Founded in 1952, the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties envisions a vibrant region with opportunity for all. In fulfillment of its “Engage. Invest. Lead” mission, the Community Foundation has transformed decades of donor generosity into $150 million invested in social impact initiatives, collaborative leadership and grantmaking. Find out more at foundationhoc.org.