LAFCU has awarded a $2,500 scholarship for Lansing Community College (LCC) to Nathan McCoy, a Mason High School senior, and he has helped award a $500 donation from LAFCU to a charity he selected, Big Brothers Big Sisters Michigan Capital Region.
McCoy won LAFCU’s 2018 Write to Educate Essay Contest based on his one-page essay describing the importance of the credit union philosophy of “People Helping People” and how it can be embodied in the community and through volunteerism. His essay will be published by the Lansing State Journal, the contest’s community sponsor.
“Nathan is an inspiring individual who has demonstrated how helping others can make for a stronger, more vibrant and inclusive community,” said Kelli Ellsworth Etchison, LAFCU chief marketing officer. “We are pleased to help support his higher education goals and know he will continue to enhance the community around him.”
On the contest application, each entrant is asked to select a charity for a donation from LAFCU. This giving component is included to help develop leadership skills of giving back and recognizing community need. The winner helps present the actual donation to his/her selected charity.
McCoy said, “For me, ‘People Helping People’ means positive actions and friendly volunteer services. According to my mother, I entered the world with a smile literally painted on my face. This may have been symbolic as I truly believe a positive attitude is contagious, and it begins with a smile.
“Everyone has challenges. My classmates were dealing with hardships like divorce, cancer, anxiety and bullying. Knowing someone cares, even if it is through sharing a 10-second giggle, is a welcomed escape.”
McCoy noted that school has been challenging for him, but with the help of others, he has overcome many obstacles. And, by being a recipient of the gift of “People Helping People,” he said he probably better understands its power.
He supported the many fundraising projects in honor of four students who lost their lives to cancer while he was in high school. He is also an enthusiastic volunteer for and supporter of youth basketball programs. While coaching a team, he helped a player who was experiencing some of the same difficulties McCoy had dealt with in school.
“At the end of the season, the student’s parents expressed gratitude and appreciation for the extra attention I gave to their son,” McCoy said. “Little did they know, I understood their son more than they realized.”
McCoy is the son of Kevin and Lynn McCoy, of Mason. He plans to pursue an associate degree in business at LCC beginning this fall.
Mason High School senior Nathan McCoy, second from right, accepts LAFCU’s ceremonial scholarship check to attend LCC this fall. Also pictured are Dan McKean, LCC Foundation executive director, and LAFCU’s Shelley Davis Boyd and Lindsay Walters, members of the scholarship selection committee.
Presenting a ceremonial $500 check to Rich Howard, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters Michigan Capital Region, at right, are LAFCU’s Lindsay Walters and Shelley Davis Boyd, members of the Write to Educate Essay Contest selection committee, and Nathan McCoy, the essay contest winner who selected the charity for the donation.