The first scholarship from the Philip Rabadi Legacy Fund was awarded Wednesday afternoon. The scholarship is in memory of Philip Rabadi, who was murdered two years ago in his New Scotland home.

Rabadi’s family started this legacy fund in his honor. They reviewed five applications. Each of them contained three essays: why you want to be a PA, how you handled a problem in healthcare, and a moment where you showed empathy to a patient.

The $4,000 scholarship went to Brandon Laventure, 25, a current student at Albany Medical College studying to become a physician assistant, just like Rabadi.

The Rabadi Family hopes it will be the first of many recipients.

Hear Laventure’s reaction to winning the award by watching the video of Subrina Dhammi’s story.