BRADFORD, Pa. — Family and friends of Preston Weinberg have endowed a scholarship in his memory at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford that will be awarded for the first time this fall.

Weinberg had just turned 25 on Dec. 30, 2024, during a visit to his family in Bradford. Less than two weeks later, he died of an acute asthma attack at his home in Los Angeles, as the Palisades fire burned nearby in January 2025.

“I think when someone dies young and suddenly, family and friends need a way to express their caring,” said Rick Weinberg, Preston’s father.

Pitt-Bradford was a natural place for the Weinberg family to turn to. Preston’s grandfather, Richard Marcott, taught at the university in the 1980s.

His father, Rick ’94, aunt, Pamela ’93, and uncle, Mark ’96, were all Pitt-Bradford alumni, and his mother, Kimberly, is a member of the staff. At the time of his death, Preston’s sister, Madeline ’26, was a senior environmental science major at Pitt-Bradford.

Preston himself spent the first semester of his freshman year in college at Pitt-Bradford before transferring to the Pittsburgh campus. He grew up in Bradford and spent hundreds of hours on campus attending kids’ camps, dual enrollment classes as a high school student and attending family and alumni events with his parents.

He graduated from Pitt in December 2022 as one of the university’s first majors studying digital narrative and interactive design, which led him to working with the tech giant Meta in California.

“Preston had scholarships, and he understood how privileged he was to earn a degree without taking out loans,” Rick Weinberg said. “When we began to think about ways to honor him, a scholarship seemed fitting.”

In recalling Weinberg, friends told the family how he made them feel accepted and part of a group.

“Preston could find something to like about every person he met, and he told you about it,” Madeline Weinberg said. “My brother had a way of being encouraging without pressuring a person. He was a true friend to all and, really, he never met a stranger.”

Preston’s mother, Kimberly Weinberg, said, “When we realized we had enough money to put criteria on our scholarship, we wanted to honor the way Preston reached out to those who need a little encouragement. So, the Preston Weinberg Memorial Scholarship will help Pitt-Bradford students who take part in TRIO Student Support Services.”

The TRIO program provides one-on-one academic support and mentoring to students who are the first in their family to attend college, who have financial need or who have a documented disability.

To make a gift to the Preston Weinberg Memorial Scholarship or learn more about starting a scholarship, visit givetoupb.org or contact Joelle Warner, director of major gifts and stewardship, at 814-362-5104 or jaw104@pitt.edu.