SCHOLARSHIP OVERVIEW
Exclusive to Breakthrough Alumni!
The RDK Polar Bear Breakthrough Memorial Scholarship
Ohio Northern University is nationally recognized as an excellent private university located in Ada, Ohio- just a few hours away from Cleveland! There are five colleges within ONU, including Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering, Pharmacy, and Law. Learn all about Ohio Northern at the ONU website.
Breakthrough Alumni have an exclusive opportunity to attend this prestigious university through the vision and generosity of the Robert Kerscher family. Every year since 2009, their scholarship has enabled Breakthrough graduates to attend this tremendous school. To date, this scholarship has enabled 12 Breakthrough graduates to attend Ohio Northern University.
How to Apply
The application deadline for the 2024-25 School Year is February 28, 2024. Note that you must already be accepted to Ohio Northern University in order to apply!
Utilize your available resources when applying for this or any other scholarship! This includes your high school guidance counselor, your parents/guardians, mentors and others. Good luck - we hope you become one of the 2024 scholarship recipients!
About Robert Kerscher
Bob Kerscher and his family have been generous supporters of both Ohio Northern University and Breakthrough Public Schools for many, many years.
A successful entrepreneur, Bob graduated with a business degree from Ohio Northern in 1970, and later obtained an Executive MBA from Baldwin Wallace College. In 1978, he founded Lexi-Comp, Inc., which provides point-of-care drug reference content for healthcare practitioners. Today, Lexi-Comp's knowledge is used by 95% of the hospitals in the United States.
While supporting many philanthropic causes, Bob and his wife Barb recognized the critical role of education in the pursuit of success in life. Combining his fondness for his alma mater (ONU) with their belief in quality education for our urban youth (Breakthrough), they established what is now known as the RDK Polar Bear Breakthrough Memorial Scholarship. Through 2020, this scholarship has enabled 12 Breakthrough alumni to receive a world class education from this prestigious, private university. Recipients have studied areas as diverse as Mechanical Engineering, Biology, Pharmacy and Accounting, among others.
Sadly, Bob passed away in 2017, but his legacy of vision and generosity continues through his family. Breakthrough Public Schools is deeply appreciative of their continuing support of our scholars, and our mission. We encourage all Breakthrough graduates to consider Ohio Northern University, and to apply for this scholarship.
