Adalynn “Ady” Olmstead came to Onondaga Community College with a goal of becoming a radiologic technologist. Two years later, the Beaver River High School graduate is excelling on the soccer field, in the classroom, and in her community - and she has been recognized with a scholarship that honors someone who believed deeply in the power of those same qualities.
Olmstead, a Health Sciences major, is the recipient of the 2026-2027 Robert H. Edson Memorial Scholarship. The $2,500 scholarship, awarded through the OCC Foundation, recognizes a student who demonstrates a commitment to academic success, leadership, community service and integrity. “Being chosen means a lot,” Olmstead said. “It’s an honor. It’s about more than the financial aspect. Knowing they chose this for me means a lot and has been in the back of my mind ever since I found out.”
Olmstead is in her second year as a member of the OCC Women’s Soccer team and her second season as a team captain. "She's incredibly hard working and has been an exemplary student-athlete. From the first practice this year, she was talking to freshmen - trying to get them up to speed and just an overall great presence during practices and games," said OCC Women's Soccer Coach Sean St. Denis.
As a freshman, she earned All-Conference and First Team All-Region honors. This season she is once again among the team's leading scorers, and academically, remains focused on her career goal. Olmstead plans to complete her associate degree next May, then transfer to SUNY Upstate Medical University where she will major in Radiology.
The Edson Scholarship carries a special meaning for her because of the person whose legacy it represents. Rob Edson was serving as OCC’s Athletic Director when he died suddenly in 2013 at age 45. His daughter, Tracey Edson, now 24, is part of the committee that reviews scholarship applicants and helps select the recipient each year. For Tracey and her family, the scholarship is a way to continue her father's legacy by helping another student-athlete pursue an education. “She's an all-around great person,” Tracey Edson said of Olmstead. “She's very good in school, very good at her sport, she's excelling in the community. She's doing all of the things that would make my dad proud. We're really excited to have her earn this award. We're excited to have her as a representative of my dad and of my family as well.”
The scholarship is particularly meaningful to the Edson family because they help choose recipients who share his values. “He was the person who would lend a hand to anybody, he would ask you how you were doing, and he would mean it when he asked. He had a genuine heart and a big care for athletes and administrators, especially at OCC,” said Edson.
Tracey, along with her mother, Sue, attend the annual OCC Athletics Awards banquet, where she speaks about her father and presents the scholarship. “For us, it's really important that we are continuing to carry that out. This scholarship is a great way of carrying that out for him.”
The family has continued to stay connected to OCC through the scholarship and its Athletics community. "We are very grateful for Kelly Seibt (OCC's Women's Basketball Coach), who is a great family friend. It's really impactful we get to work with her, and Kim McAuliffe (of the OCC Foundation) who is also a great family friend. We have so much gratitude for OCC and the people there who are doing everything they can to communicate with us, invite us back, and that we get to still be a part of this. We know how much OCC meant to my dad and it means that much to us as well."
