A State College Area High School senior is the third annual recipient of a scholarship created in memory of Osaze Osagie.
Justin Castro-Dixon received the 2024 Osaze’s Heart Community Service Scholarship, according to a news release. The scholarship is awarded by an endowment committee to racially underrepresented high school students at State High who serve the community through volunteerism and plan to attend a post-secondary institution.
Named in honor of Osagie, the 29-year-old State College man who was shot and killed in a confrontation with borough police who had come to his home on March 20, 2019 to serve a mental health warrant, the $5,000 scholarship “is dedicated to keeping Osaze Osagie’s spirit of caring alive,” according to the committee.
For Castro-Dixon, who will study psychology and play football at Lock Haven University, community service grew from family service. From a young age he began helping his mother, a healthcare professional, and in the process has developed many life skills, including becoming a chef.
Throughout high school, he has cooked many meals for his classmates and the State High community as part of the school’s Culinary Arts program. Recently, he prepared a feast honoring his family’s Jamaican heritage.
A standout on the Little Lion football team, Castro-Dixon also found joy in coaching youth football camps.
“For me, it’s like family time and I loved helping kids,” he said in a news release.
Osaze Osagie’s parents, Sylvester and Iyun, said they are “very proud” of Castro-Dixon and his achievements.
“He has worked very hard in achieving his dream to play football at the college level,” Iyun Osagie said. “In following this path, Justin made sure that more little boys who are also dreaming of a future in football can follow in his footsteps. He has given of himself tirelessly to coach in youth football programs, has been one of the team leaders on his football team, and has manifested leadership qualities through his social engagements.
“An affable young man who draws others to himself because of his magnetic personality, Justin’s acts of volunteerism have flowed very naturally as a lifestyle choice: giving back is a decision. We are not at all surprised by his selflessness. The Osagie family and our dedicated scholarship committee wish him nothing but the best.”
The Osaze’s Heart Community Service Scholarship was endowed in February 2022 and is administered through Centre Foundation. The endowment scholarship committee includes Lydia Abdullah, Chip Aikens, Rich Bundy, Felisa Preciado Higgins, Savita Iyer-Ahrestani, Nalini Krishnankutty, 2023 recipient Luis Otarola, Ezra Nanes, and Iyun and Sylvester Osagie.
Contributions can be made online.
“The unfailing support from a dedicated and caring community continues to be the bedrock on which the dreams of underrepresented high school students who are making a difference in our local community become realized,” Sylvester Osagie said.
