TAMPA, Fla. – The GTE Foundation Scholarship Program awarded a total of $90,000 in scholarship funds to 36 local high school and undergraduate students at an awards luncheon hosted by GTE Financial at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay.
“We are pleased to award another group of exemplary young men and women a GTE Foundation Scholarship and recognize their dedication to academic achievements and community service,” said Joe Brancucci, GTE Financial president and CEO. “The challenge our judging panel faces of narrowing so many impressive candidates down to only 36 becomes harder each year. So many of today’s youth promise to be great leaders in our community, and it’s our privilege to help support their academic goals.”
Recipients of the $2,500 scholarships and their families, as well as GTE Financial’s executive management team, members of GTE Financial’s board of directors and the Scholarship Judging Committee, attended the awards luncheon emceed by Jane Castor, principal of Castor Consulting, LLC, and former chief and 31 year veteran of the Tampa Police Department. GTE received 413 completed applications for the scholarships this year and the judges evaluated applications based on students’ community engagement, volunteerism and academic achievements.