Three Liam's Legacy scholarships awarded

Three students from Orleans/Niagara BOCES are the recipients of the Liam’s Legacy scholarships.

At end-of-year celebrations at Niagara Career and Technical Education Center, Security and Law Enforcement student Gianna Scirri (Niagara Wheatfield) and Kenneth Lauffer (Starpoint) in the Emergency Medical Services program were recognized.

At Orleans Career and Technical Education Center, Lydia Samson, a Barker student in the Health Occupations Technician program, was announced as one of this year’s award winners. She was to be recognized at her home school district at a later date.

The awards were started by Jennifer Raduns in memory of her grandson Liam. The six-month old baby was beaten by his father in 2016 and later died from his injuries.

“I wanted to pay homage to the first responders who tried to save Liam’s life,” Raduns said.

From the nominations:

Scirri was recognized as a student who carries herself with the core values of the Security and Law Enforcement program: professionalism, integrity, dedication and excellence. She will be attending Niagara County Community College to pursue a degree in radiology and would like to eventually become a New York State Trooper.

EMS teacher Sara McCartin said about Lauffer: “Kenneth is very passionate about helping others. He is a member of Tri-Community Ambulance and Shawnee Fire. He has logged over 275 hours of volunteer time this year alone.”

Samson has dedicated the majority of her extracurricular time to studying and competing in CPR/First Aid. She won first place at the New York State SkillsUSA competition for Basic Health Care and has received direct admission to the nursing program at Genesee Community College Nursing this fall. She is one of only nine graduating high school seniors to receive direct entry.