Emma Donnegan

The Emma E. Donegan Scholarship was established in memory of the late, Emma Donegan, a lifelong Corning resident, and a woman ahead of her time. As a young woman she was excited to get her driver’s license, attend a business college, and have a career outside the home. These were all things that were uncommon for a woman of Donegan’s generation. Emma was always an active member of her community and spent many hours volunteering with her parish at St. Mary’s Church and the Corning Hospital.

Emma’s name continues to live on in the community through the SUNY CCC students who benefit from this scholarship each year. This year’s recipients, Leah Storms ‘21 and Kelly Hoyt ’21, are both Corning- Painted Post High School graduates studying Business Administration.

Leah says she has found SUNY Corning Community College to be “a very welcoming environment. The teachers are great and very supportive.” Upon learning that she was awarded this scholarship, Leah says “it solidified all the hard work I did in high school and my goal of getting through college debt free.” Upon completing her studies at SUNY CCC, Leah plans to transfer to a Floriculture program. She had the opportunity to intern with a florist during high school and that has inspired her to run her own floral shop one day.

Kelly says of being awarded this scholarship “it lets me focus on my education, not the debt that I will have to pay off.” Hoyt thinks that she would like to go into corporate law someday, but says “I want to get my degree in business administration for now because I don’t want to just limit myself to law. My advisor and Business Law Professor Jennifer O’Hara has been a great resource to me.”

Emma herself was always interested in the changing world and loved to learn about new technology. As a lifelong learner herself, she would be proud to know her name lives on while supporting the next generation of students.