The 2025 Inspire Scholarships are now open for applications. The scholarship program, sponsored by the Batavia Chamber of Commerce, will be given to Batavia Public School District 101 high school seniors, with up to four awards given. 

The four scholarships, worth $1,000 each, are motivated by the makeup of the Batavia Chamber of Commerce membership. Because the Chamber’s signature awards event is called Inspire: A Celebration of Those Who Inspire Us!, the name for each of the categories invokes this sentiment.

The scholarships are:

• Inspiring Entrepreneurship

• Inspiring Women in Business

• Inspiring Career & Technical Achievers

• Inspiring Contributors to a Batavia Chamber Business 

According to Margaret Perreault, president & CEO of Batavia Chamber of Commerce, the thinking behind the scholarship program is two-fold.

“As a community-minded organization, we look for avenues to support our community,” Ms. Perreault explained. “Also, in discussions with our member businesses we repeatedly heard how difficult it is to hire well-trained and/or educated employees.

“It only makes sense that we help inspire students to further their education so they will be ready to fulfill those jobs that our members struggle to fill,” she continued. 

Each scholarship has a topic-specific application. For instance, the Inspiring Entrepreneurship scholarship is to reward a student who has an interest in starting a business to encourage consideration to locate in Batavia. One of the questions for this award is to “Cite one successful entrepreneur that you are aware of in Batavia and what you can learn from them.”

Applications for any of these scholarships are currently being accepted through Friday, March 28, 2025. The financial award shall be paid directly to the institute the recipient will be attending.

The applications, which can be accessed at bataviachamber.org, must be fully completed and submitted to the Batavia Chamber by 4 p.m. Friday, March 28, 2025. Each scholarship recipient will be notified by email no later than Monday, April 14, 2025.

Press release provided by the Batavia Chamber of Commerce.

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