06/23/2026
Smith & Gerberg Capture Courtney O’Bryan Scholarships...
Courtney O’Bryan was a charismatic young woman with a magnetic personality. Super smart, energetic and loyal, she was a kind and considerate friend to so many. She was loved by everyone that knew her.
The 2011 Huntington High School graduate will always be remembered at her alma mater, where her contagious smile and happy personality made a lasting impression.
A starter on the Blue Devil varsity girls’ soccer and basketball teams, Ms. O’Bryan employed a take-no-prisoners tyle of play. Devoted to her studies, she was admired and respected by the high school’s faculty. Her intellect, engaging personality and easygoing nature along with an sometimes hilarious sense of humor came together to win over classmates, coaches and teachers.
Ms. O’Bryan, who moved to Huntington from Lynbrook as a fifth grader, graduated near the top of her class and enrolled in Penn State University, where she embraced campus life, participating in the school’s IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, better known as THON, which raises funds to battle pediatric cancer.
The largest student-run philanthropy in the world, THON has raised more than $272 million since 1977 for The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. A large percentage of the monies have been collected during so-called “canning” weekends, which see Penn State students fanning out into other cities and states to solicit donations for the THON initiative.
After visiting her family in Huntington for Thanksgiving and stopping at the Huntington High School gym to shoot baskets with her former teammates and coaches, Ms. O’Bryan returned to the Penn State campus for a week of classes.
On Friday, December 2, 2011, the Blue Devil alum was a passenger in a car on its way to Buffalo for a canning weekend to raise money for THON and pediatric cancer research. At about 8:30 p.m. the car reportedly hit an icy patch of roadway in Lewis Run in northern Pennsylvania, careening out of control, flipping over, sliding down a highway embankment and crashing into a tree.
Ms. O’Bryan, who was riding in the backseat of the 2011 Nissan Pathfinder, was fatally injured and four other students in the car were hospitalized. The accident occurred on State Road 219, about one mile south of State Route 59 according to the Pennsylvania State Police.
The news hit Huntington like a gut punch. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Ms. O’Bryan’s family created a scholarship to perpetuate her memory and promote the qualities she so spectacularly displayed.
The Courtney O’Bryan Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to senior male and female athletes who are college bound and who participated in more than one team sport “exemplifying character, leadership, strong school spirit and sportsmanship.”
Two Seniors Capture Scholarships
This year, graduating seniors Cameron Smith and Henry Gerberg were chosen by Ms. O’Bryan’s parents, Bill and Lisa and family members as the recipients of twin $1,000 scholarship awards along with attractive plaques.
Mr. O’Bryan was on hand at the 58th Blue Devil senior athletic awards ceremony in the high school auditorium to announce Ms. Smith and Mr. Gerberg as this year’s scholarship winners.
Both of the teenagers were named Distinguished Seniors after compiling academic grade averages in excess of 90 during every semester of high school.
Huntington coaches submitted about two dozen separate nominations for this year’s scholarships. The award is annually held in high esteem.
Read more at www.hufsd.edu
