16-05-2025
Blackhawk High School seniors each honored with $1,000 scholarship in honor of former classmate
Seniors at Blackhawk High School in Beaver Falls are days away from graduation, but on Friday, they were surprised with early gifts as they prepare for their futures and higher education.
Throughout the morning at the senior awards assembly, students accepted honor after honor, but among the class of more than 200 12th graders, one person was missing: Benjamin Banks Jr.
At 10 years old, Ben Jr. died from a brain aneurysm, a complication from polycystic kidney disease. To remember his life, his classmates and teachers shared their favorite memories in a video before his parents, Ben Sr. and Marie, and his sister, Grace, took the stage.
"If you remember one thing about my son, remember his kind nature," Ben Sr. said to the students.
Then, they made an announcement they've been holding in for four to five years.
"We have the great honor to award a $1,000 scholarship to every single graduating student in his class," Grace said.
Each member of the senior class received a $1,000 scholarship as a part of the Benjamin Banks Jr. Memorial Foundation, which his family created shortly after his death.
It was a bittersweet moment for Alesa Lincheck, who was in Ben Jr.'s first-grade class and was holding back tears.
"It was just really nice of them to do that for all of us, the whole class," Lincheck said. "We have a big class too, so honestly, it's just so generous."
For his family, it was a chance to see how many lives their son touched, as a kid obsessed with cars, facing challenges like autism and ADHD.
"It was like the completion of a long goal that we've been going toward, and doing it in our son's name is just the best," Ben Sr. said.
"Seeing all those kids grown, it's just hard, but I'm so happy for them and the lives they have in front of them," Marie said.
