The Phil Wagner Foundation is proud to announce that we have created a police academy scholarship for students enrolled in the Lorain County Community College Police Academy. Cadets enrolled in the academy who are NOT sponsored by a department and are responsible for paying their own academy tuition will be eligible for this scholarship. Cadets who have already been hired by an agency and are being put through the academy by that agency are not eligible. The scholarship will be awarded to a selected cadet of the class, determined by a selection process set forth by the Board of Directors. There is no application process for this scholarship and is automatically offered to the academy class. The Phil Wagner Foundation plans to award the first scholarship to a cadet during the second academy class of 2026.

For those unaware, Phil himself was an academy graduate from LCCC who put himself through the academy without a department sponsor. The demands attending a full-time academy can have on a family can make accomplishing this task difficult at times, depending on the cadet's home life they may have. Besides the financial strain that it puts on future law enforcement families, the ability to attend a full-time academy while working a full-time job, taking care of a family, and other daily life tasks, can make it quite an endeavor. We aim to ease the financial burden placed on these cadets by offering a fully sponsored academy spot to an unsponsored cadet of the class. Tuition for this top cadet will be paid in full by the foundation to honor Phil's legacy and keep his name relevant for years to come.