Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union presented 10 high school seniors whose parents are members of the credit union with $5,000 Ted Hitch Scholarships at a recognition dinner on April 28.
ETFCU is approaching $600,000 in awards granted through its Ted Hitch Scholarship program. This year’s award winners, who attend nine different schools, were chosen from a competitive field of 99 applicants.
This year’s recipients, including college of choice:
- Brenden Bittner, Gibson Southern High School, University of Southern Indiana
- Nate Flamion, Harrison High School, Purdue
- Madisyn Grigsby, Central High School, Purdue
- Andrew Heldman, Mater Dei High School, Indiana University
- Jonathan Hueftle, Mount Vernon High School, Murray State
- Brooklyn Knight, Apollo High School, Kentucky
- Thomas Mishler, North High School, Indiana University
- David Nickel, FJ Reitz High School, Purdue
- Lucas Riggs, North High School, University of Evansville
- Sophia Thompson, Reitz Memorial High School, Purdue
The scholarships are named in honor of Theodore “Ted” Hitch Jr., a longtime mathematics teacher at Evansville Bosse High School who championed education. Hitch served as manager/CEO of ETFCU for 28 years, from 1961-1989. He passed away in 2016. Since the scholarships’ implementation in 1993, ETFCU has awarded $570,000 to 230 recipients. The award began with five $1,000 scholarships, increased to ten $2,000 scholarships in 2005, and increased again to ten $5,000 scholarships in 2015.
To be eligible, either the applicant or the applicant’s parents/guardians must be a member of ETFCU. Applications are expected to have a minimum 3.75 unweighted grade point average on a 4.0 grading scale, and the rigorous process includes submission of SAT and/or ACT testing scores, financial need, letters of reference, extracurricular activities, and an essay.