Bay Federal Credit Union lauded the winners of its 2018 Education Scholarship and 2018 Mac McCormack Employee Scholarship at its annual meeting Tuesday, March 27.
Bay Federal President and CEO Carrie Birkhofer and Chair of the Board of Directors Jim Phillips presented the scholarships in front of a crowd of 63.
“The incredible potential of these scholarship winners is striking,” Birkhofer said. “My hope is that with the knowledge they gain in school, they can affect positive change, work toward solutions, and make a real difference in our world.”
Education Scholarship awards of $1,500 each went to Elisabeth Kantorik, Krista Lober, and Veronica Anaya-Cruz. Mac McCormac Employee Scholarship awards of $1,000 each went to Kiannah Rocha-Ventura, Mauricio Samano, and Tiffany Zachmeier.
Applicants were required to submit essays detailing how the scholarship awards would help them achieve their educational goals, and applications were reviewed by a group of Bay Federal employees.
Over the years, Bay Federal has awarded 42 scholarships totaling $41,000 to promote education in the community and among its membership. The Mac McCormac Employee Scholarship is named for the credit union’s first employee.
Who are the Education Scholarship winners?
- Elisabeth Kantorik – Kantorik, a teacher who calls Santa Cruz her hometown, is soon beginning a master’s program in literacy at Stanford. She is an alumna of Scotts Valley High School.
- Krista Lober – Lober is finishing the rigorous nursing program at Gavilan College and will attend Cal State Monterey Bay in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in the fall. She is a Monte Vista Christian School alumna from Watsonville.
- Veronica Anaya-Cruz – A senior at Watsonville High School and the daughter of immigrants, Anaya-Cruz will attend UCLA in the fall. She intends to earn a doctorate in political science and be a change agent in government.
Who are the Mac McCormac Scholarship winners?
- Kiannah Rocha-Ventura – Rocha-Ventura, who currently works at the Aptos Branch and lives in Watsonville, attends Cabrillo College. She plans to transfer to San Jose State University to earn a degree in business. She also won the Mac McCormac Scholarship in 2017.
- Mauricio Samano – Samano, who currently works at the Watsonville Branch, is a re-entry student working to complete pre-requisites at Cabrillo College before transferring to Cal State Monterey Bay to pursue a theater arts degree. He lives in Watsonville.
- Tiffany Zachmeier – Zachmeier, who is Bay Federal’s Certified Financial Educator and regularly teaches personal finance to youth and adults, is transferring from Cabrillo College to UC Santa Cruz in the fall. She lives in Santa Cruz and is majoring in anthropology.
Bay Federal Credit Union President and CEO Carrie Birkhofer; Education Scholarship award winner Elisabeth Kantorik; Education Scholarship award winner Krista Lober; Mac McCormac Employee Scholarship award winner Tiffany Zachmeier; and Chair of the Board of Directors Jim Phillips celebrate at the credit union’s headquarters in Capitola, Calif., on Tuesday, March 27, 2018. Not pictured: Veronica Anaya-Cruz, Mauricio Samano, and Kiannah Rocha-Ventura.