 |
|
|
The Minnesota Family Involvement Council has a history of commitment to education. In 1997 the FIC introduced its annual
scholarship program, providing funds to credit union members continuing their post-high
school education. The total amount of scholarship money awarded varies
from year to year, correlating directly with the FIC's annual Silent Auction held
every April. The total dollar amount raised during the Silent Auction equals
the total scholarship dollars offered in the following year's competition.
Each year applicants are asked to submit an essay on a credit union-related issue. Applicants are judged on creativity, relevance, outside activities and involvement. Scholarships are judged in March and money is awarded after the recipient has completed their first semester of the following school year. Please check back this fall for information on the 2009 scholarship program (for students attending school in the 2009-2010 school year)! FIC awards $8,500 in scholarships to Minnesota credit union members The Minnesota Family Involvement Council (FIC) met March 13 and waded through more than 700 applications to award $8,500 in scholarships to 15 individuals for the 2008-2009 school year. Two $1,000 scholarships and thirteen $500 scholarships were awarded to applicants in traditional (high school students) and non-traditional categories. Applicants submitted information and an essay that answered the question, "How should your credit union help you prepare for life?" Scholarship recipients are listed below, along with copies of the two $1,000 winners' essays. In the traditional category: $1,000: Bethany LeCocq, Diversified CU $500: Trevor Ludden, City & County CU Michael Rosenthal, City & County CU Nikki Schminski, Hermantown FCU William Schultze, Minnesota Valley FCU Caroline Snowden, City & County CU Steven Vuong, Richfield/Bloomington CU Nathaniel Younce, Hiway FCU In the non-traditional category: $1,000: Steven Brown, Collegeville Community CU $500: Marisa Arens, Fulda Area CU Jaclyn Carlson Van Lith, Otter Tail Power ECU Scott Dunkelberger, North Memorial CU Nicole Holm, United Educators CU Rachel Kelm, Home Town FCU Kristin Olson, Postal CU First Place - Traditional Student Division $1,000 Harvey Bakke Scholarship "How should your credit union help you prepare for life?" As athletes are preparing for the 2008 Olympics, I am reminded of how my credit union helps me in preparing for life. To get to the Olympics, an athlete must have determination, withstand rigorous training, and maintain a healthy diet. These athletes also listen to direction from coaches and take advantage of every opportunity they are given. As Thomas Edison once said, "Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning". Doesn't that turn on a lightbulb in your mind? To begin, athletes must have determination, set a goal, and generate a plan to assist them. With their lead, I have realized I should follow their example with my life. As a young child, my parents opened a savings account for me. They were determined to make college a priority in my life but realized the expenses for it would be an issue. Starting to save money at a young age helped me to realize my goal of college could be met. The credit union provides services with accounts that grow with a child, giving them more responsibility and freedom as they age. Next, athletes must go through rigorous training to make them experts. In relation, credit unions help train and offer advice to members so that they might make the most of their money. As I have grown up, additional options for my account have become available. For example, with adult consent, checking (debit) accounts are possible. In the future, credit cards will give me experience in paying bills, and eventually, I will be able to take out loans. A credit union's rates benefit all members with high savings dividend percentages or low loan interest rates. Finally, athletes must maintain a healthy diet to become successful in their events. Without proper nourishment, the body is unprepared for competition. When related to a credit union, it becomes obvious that I must provide a "healthy diet" for my bank account. However, rather than food, money is the source of nourishment. In doing so, I understand that maintaining my account requires discipline. Just as an athlete would not rob their body of nutrients, I must keep feeding my account with more deposits then withdrawals. Through determination, training, and healthy diet, both the 2008 Olympic Athletes, and I (with the credit union's help) are able to reach our goals. "Failing to plan is planning to fail". Without goals and direction, success in life is impossible. However, with a plan to save, and a credit union to back me up, success is inevitable. Bethany LeCocq Member Diversified Credit Union First Place - Non-Traditional Student Division $1,000 Harvey Bakke Scholarship ""How should your credit union help you prepare for life?"" Life is all about choices. What to eat, what to buy, what to wear, and of course, what to do with money. Fortunately life has lots of options: apples or oranges, microwave or toaster oven, khakis or blue jeans, and credit unions or banks. Certain choices are sometimes better than others. Credit unions help prepare people for life by giving them sound financial options so they can worry about the other choices they will have to make. First what to eat. Savings accounts are the bread and butter of any financial portfolio and a place where credit unions immediately stand out. My parents opened my first account before I could remember, but I now know that it was a good choice because credit unions offer better interest rates than banks. My mom always told me, "You are what you eat", and a savings account through a credit union is the most nutritious thing one can have. What to buy or more appropriately what to buy it with is a very important and possibly difficult question. Luckily, credit unions provide a number of easy answers. Checking, debit cards, and credit cards are all smart decisions that can be found at the local credit union. When one signs up for these accounts, the superior customer service that the smiling staff offers serves as a reminder that credit unions are organizations made to profit the members and not some bank's president. My mom always told me, "Never take candy from strangers". That's why it's a good thing that I know the people who work at the credit union, and they know and care about me. What to wear is something that people agonize over time and time again. Thankfully the local credit union provides a wide range of options so I can find that perfect fit for my financial style. Whether it is loans for a new house or car, or certificates of deposit for long term investment, credit unions are there to make money for me, a member, and not this guy in a suit, the owner of a bank. As life forces me to make more and more choices I know I can rely on my credit union to continue to provide me with sound options. My mom always told me, "You are my sunshine", and sometimes that's just how I feel about my credit unions (although usually I don't sing it). Credit unions help prepare me for life by giving me options so I can make a choice. These options (savings accounts, checking, loans, etc) are often so much better that they make the choice easy. Better rates, service, and commitment to members are the reasons why I chose to be a credit union member. Now if only I knew what to write … I'm really unsure, but at least I can be confident in the choices I've made about my financial future. Steven Brown Member Collegeville Community Credit Union |