CAPITOLA, Calif. – Bay Federal Credit Union has announced the winners of its financial education scholarships.
Local students Coleman Garner, Juan Padilla, and Carmen Sauceda were named Education Scholarship recipients. Micaela DiPiero and Albert Vizcarra were awarded Mac McCormac Employee Scholarships. Each will receive $1,500 for school-related expenses.
Carrie Birkhofer, Bay Federal President and CEO, announced the honorees at the meeting, which was held in-person at Bay Federal’s Capitola Branch and on Zoom.
“I am incredibly pleased to honor these hard-working students,” Birkhofer said. “My hope is that each of them will succeed in their educational pursuits and go on to make a real difference in our world.”
Scholarship applicants were required to submit essays describing what their approach would be to improve money management skills of teens and adults in their communities. The essays were judged blind.
Since 2008, Bay Federal has awarded 75 scholarships totaling $76,500 to students who are pursuing higher education.
“I think it’s great that Bay Federal offers these opportunities for its community,” Sauceda said. She uses student loans, lives at home, and works part-time to attend UC Santa Cruz. “I also have two younger siblings that are going to go to college at some point, and I don’t want to put it all on my dad.”