The named scholarship was established by friends and family of Steve Bell, a 1991 graduate of the LSSU criminal justice program. In 1994 he was hired as a public safety officer in Bloomfield Hills and with the encouragement of fellow public safety officer, Rick Mattot, joined the Lapeer City fire department. Steve grew to love firefighting and working for the Lapeer City Fire Department. On the day he died, Steve had just completed a 24-hour shift. He died at the scene of an automobile accident in February 2003 at the age of 33. Successful candidates must be of sophomore status majoring in the fire science program with a minimum 3.0 GPA with selection based on the recommendation of the LSSU Fire Science faculty.
