ALBANY, NY (June 5, 2014) -- Thirty-nine New York credit union members have been awarded college scholarships through the Credit Union Association of New York’s annual, statewide scholarship program. Twenty high-school seniors will be awarded $1,000 scholarships, and 19 will receive a $500 award, bringing the total amount awarded to $29,500. In addition to the scholarships awarded through CUANY’s statewide program, New York credit union award more than $1.5 million in total scholarships to college-bound members annually.
Nearly 100 credit unions representing every chapter participated in the statewide program, and approximately 1,500 applications were submitted. The program was open to high school seniors with membership in a New York credit union who are planning to enroll in a two- or four-year college. Award recipients were selected based on academic performance, honors and awards, extracurricular activities, community activities, leadership roles and an essay.
Scholarships were awarded to the following recipients.
· Zachary Baker, Visions FCU;
· Matthew Baptist, Quorum FCU;
· Brandon Bedell, AmeriCU Credit Union;
· Sophia Benjamin, ServU FCU;
· Joseph Benz, Great Erie FCU;
· Angelica Bevinetto, Teachers FCU;
· Carolyn Carrera, Suffolk FCU;
· Samuel Chauvin, ServU FCU;
· Mateusz Chrobak, Polish & Slavic FCU;
· Meghan Collyer, Sweet Home FCU;
· Evan Conley, Cornerstone Community FCU;
· Laura Dautzenberg, Suffolk FCU;
· Juliet Downie, Corning FCU;
· Annamarie Forestiere, Empower FCU;
· Altan Frantz, Visions FCU;
· Jennifer Gentile, Nassau Financial FCU;
· Rachel Kavney, ACMG FCU;
· Brittany Kubecka, CORE FCU;
· Benjamin Lei, Hudson Valley FCU;
· Devin Li, Corning FCU;
· Melissa Mathew, Rockland Employees FCU;
· Joseph McIntyre, Inner Lakes FCU;
· Alexander McLaughlin, Mid-Hudson Valley FCU;
· Nse Obot, Cornerstone Community FCU;
· Andrew Oguich, Buffalo Service Credit Union;
· Karolina Pajdak, Polish & Slavic FCU;
· Bhavik, Parikh, Municipal Credit Union;
· Bhavana Patil, Hudson Valley FCU;
· Maxine Petrosino, SEFCU;
· Brittney Scannell, Nassau Financial FCU;
· Rebecca Skakal, SEFCU;
· Brian Talbot, Visions FCU;
· Anthony Taylor, Visions FCU;
· Laura Treers, SEFCU;
· Bianca Viscusi, SEFCU;
· Tory Welsch, Compass FCU;
· Katie Whittemore, Ticonderoga FCU;
· Sarah Wright, ServU FCU; and
· Sadie Zacharek, Empower FCU.
“The Credit Union Association of New York is proud to help these hardworking young men and women—our future leaders—pursue a college education,” said CUANY president/CEO William J. Mellin. “All of these scholarship recipients should be commended for their diligence and their choice to obtain a higher education.”
The Credit Union Association of New York has served as the trade association for the state’s credit unions for 96 years. New York credit unions have assets of more than $65 billion and serve 4.9 million members. To learn more about CUANY, visit www.cuany.org. To find a credit union or learn more about the credit union movement, visit www.asmarterchoice.org.