ADAMS TWP - Two scholarships will keep alive the spirit and courage of a fourth grader who bravely battled the brain tumor that took her life just after Christmas 2002.

The first Sydney Bahney Overcoming Obstacles to Reach Your Goals Scholarships will be presented to a male and a female Mars High School graduating senior at the Mars Academic Scholarship Awards Dinner at 6 p.m. Tuesday at The Chadwick in Wexford.

Corrine Bahney, Sydney's mother, said high school teacher Roberta Tritch helped Corrine and her husband Ken organize the scholarship in memory of Sydney, whose tenacity throughout her medical ordeal inspired those around her.

"She fought it. She was a fighter," said Corrine Bahney of her daughter, who was a student in the Mars School District.

Each winner will receive $1,000 based on an essay on one of two topics: explain how you have overcome a serious difficulty or obstacle in your life and what you have learned, or what have you done to positively influence the life of another and how did that make you feel?

Bahney said the scholarships were originally $500 each, but the success of a golf outing last June earned enough to double each scholarship. The outing at Lakevue Golf Course in Penn Township was attended mostly by Syndey's friends and family members.

"It was a beautiful day and everyone had a great time," said Bahney.

This year's outing is already full, with 144 golfers slated for the May 22 shotgun start at a golf course in Clarksburg, Indiana County. Corrine Bahney said businesses in the Mars area and Pittsburgh sports teams have been more than generous in offering prizes for the golf outing.

"Practically everyone went away with something," said Bahney of last year's outing.

Because last year's outing brought in $5,200, two other groups connected to Sydney's life benefited from the fund-raising effort.

The Bahneys decided to sponsor a Mars Area Girls Softball Association team named "Syd Rocks" in the 9- to 13-year-old division.

"That would be the level Sydney would be playing at if she had lived," said Corrine Bahney.

The Bahneys also paid for a week at summer church camp for all eight children from the Old Union Presbyterian Church.

The Rev. Peter deVries, Old Union pastor, said the church's policy has been to pay for a child's first trip to church camp in full, then pay half the amount the second year. But this year every child who will attend the week-long camp at Westminster Highlands near Emlenton in northern Butler County will have their tuition paid in full, taking a significant financial burden off the church.

"It's really great for them to make us a beneficiary of their golf tournament," said deVries. "(Summer camp) is a real life-changing experience for our kids."

Sydney Bahney is buried at the Old Union Presbyterian Church, which is just a few hundred feet from her home.