Benchmark Federal Credit Union is offering the opportunity for local students of the Chester County Area to win a scholarship.
To apply for the scholarship, students must answer the following prompt:
“Affordability of a college education is a major issue in the 2016 presidential election. What smart strategies are you using to pay for college, and what do you recommend to other students and their families?”
The best answers to the question could be awarded a college scholarship for five lucky high school senior and existing college students. Benchmark Federal Credit Union has opened a call for entries to Chester County-area students as well as its existing membership to compete for five scholarships totaling $15,000. The scholarships will be awarded to three graduating high school senior students and two students currently enrolled in an accredited higher-education institution.
Three graduating high school senior students will each receive a $4,000 scholarship ($1,000 during the fall semester of each of his or her first four years of higher education). Two existing college students will each receive a one-time $1,500 scholarship toward their fall 2016 tuition.
“Financing higher education is a major undertaking, and today’s mobile banking now makes it possible for students to take their Chester County credit union with them, wherever they go to college,” says David LaSala, Benchmark President and CEO. “We hope to lessen the financial burden for these deserving students and their families. Providing scholarships is a key part of Benchmark’s philanthropic initiative to support financial awareness and success strategies throughout Chester County.”
Essays of up to 750 words must be submitted by 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, 2016 and will be judged by an independent panel of community and education leaders. Winners will be notified by June 1, 2016. The scholarship program is open to students who are or are eligible to become Benchmark FCU members, and do so prior to the contest deadline. The minimal membership fee to join the credit union is $5.00.
For rules, official cover sheet and membership information, visit: www.benchmarkfcu.org.
Below are photos of last year’s winners.
Hannah O’Brien (left) of Collegeville, PA, winner in 2015 of a $4,000 scholarship from Benchmark Federal Credit Union, received a piggy bank from Rebecca Worthington, Benchmark’s Marketing Director.
Shannon Beattie (2nd from right) and her family celebrated her 2015 graduation from Perkiomen Valley High School in Collegeville, PA and her $4,000 scholarship from Benchmark Federal Credit Union.
Nicholas Capriotti (left) and Hannah O’Brien, both 2015 graduates of Perkiomen Valley High School in Collegeville, PA, each received a $4,000 scholarship from Benchmark Federal Credit Union.
2015 Benchmark Federal Credit Union $1,500 scholarship winner Rachel Hampton (Philadelphia, PA) on camelback in the Moroccan desert in North Africa.
Last year, Benchmark Federal Credit Union awarded a $1,500 scholarship to Meaghan Meyers of Ijamsville, MD (pictured at the Eiffel Tower).
