Celriver Legacy Project Scholarship now offered through York Technical College

York Technical College students can now apply to the Celriver Legacy Project Scholarship, an endowed scholarship named after the Celanese Celriver plant, its employees and their significant contributions to the history and economy of the community. The scholarship will be awarded annually by the York Technical College Foundation in the amount of $500 with preference given to the descendants of former Celriver employees.

The Celanese Celriver plant was once York County’s largest businesses until it ceased operations in 2005 after almost six decades. The Celriver Legacy Project Scholarship will provide financial assistance to students from Chester, York and Lancaster counties who wish to attend York Tech. Interested applicants must have a grade point average of 2.5 or above to apply. The scholarship funds can be used toward tuition, books and educational supplies. York County Natural Gas Authority, along with other businesses and community members provided funding to establish the endowed scholarship.

“A lot of our employees went through York Tech while they were working at the Celanese Celriver plant,” said Mack Bailey, a former Celriver employee and secretary of the Celriver Legacy Campaign Steering Committee. “We felt like by establishing scholarships at York Tech and Winthrop (University) we would lay the groundwork of what we all know is the future and that is education.” 

The former plant site, now known as the Celriver Legacy Plaza, was completed last summer and is part of Rock Hill’s Riverwalk Development. The new space accommodates gatherings, concerts and residences. The Celriver Legacy Plaza also contains benches, sculptures depicting former employees, other artwork, a poem about the Celriver plant, graphic interpretive kiosks and a memorial marker with the names of its contributors, according to the Celriver Legacy Project.

“We wanted to incorporate the past, present and future into the project,” added Bailey. “We feel like our project has completed all of the goals it set out to do.”

The York Technical College Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to student success, partnerships, programming and the campus environment, and professional development, reminds current and prospective York Tech students that the deadline for fall 2019 scholarships is July 21, 2019.

For more information about the Celriver Legacy Project Scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, visit yorktech.edu/scholarships/