First Recipient of the
Doc Walbridge Scholarship!
2006 - Sam Rorabaugh

Let me first say that it is an incredible honor to be the first recipient of the Doc Walbridge scholarship. I would like to express my deep thanks to all those who donated for it and especially to Dr. Walbridge himself for pioneering a great forestry program at Virginia Tech and touching the lives that he did. I've already talked with a few people in industry that were excited to meet the recipient of the scholarship. I'm from the small town of Cherry Tree in rural western Pennsylvania and grew up working in a sawmill owned by my father and two uncles. The mill, Rorabaugh Lumber Co., was started by my grandfather in 1950. There's nothing like stacking red oak in July to give you a perspective on the value of education. I have taken the value of hard work pressed upon me by my father and uncles and used it at Virginia Tech, earning a 3.44 cumulative grade average as of the beginning of my senior year with three straight appearances on the dean's list. I'm currently the president of a social fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau where I'm involved in campus leadership and philanthropic activities. This past summer I worked for Weyerhaeuser Company in their North Carolina Timberlands, which was my introduction to southern pine. Prior to this job I worked with a consulting forester in Pennsylvania over the past two semester breaks. I would like to say again that I'm honored to receive this scholarship and give a special thanks to all of the forestry professors. Their knowledge and compassion make it easy to excel, they truly are the kind of people you want to work hard for.


Sam Rorabaugh

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