CHESTER COUNTY, PA — Five local students have been chosen to receive college scholarships from Benchmark Federal Credit Union, which awards $15,000 annually to local students.
Class of 2019 High School Seniors:
- Maria Costa – Graduated from Downingtown STEM Academy in Downingtown, PA and is attending Georgia Institute of Technology
- Aiden Minio – Graduated from Downingtown East High School in Exton, PA and is attending Penn State University
- Jack Phillips – Graduated from Pope John Paul II High School in Royersford, PA and is attending the University of Notre Dame
Current College Students:
- Jacob Csuy – Attends Drexel University after graduating from Unionville High School in Kennett Square, PA
- Katherine Giordano – Attends Stanford University after graduating from Gill St. Bernard’s School in Gladstone, NJ as well as Princeton University
Each of the high school seniors who just graduated will receive a $4,000 scholarship and each of the existing college students will receive a one-time $1,500 scholarship.
All scholarship applicants successfully answered the following:
Why is it important to start budgeting while you’re in college?
Build and explain the components of your college budget.
Essays of up to 750 words were due by mid-April and then judged by an independent panel of community and education leaders. The scholarship program was open to students who already are, or are eligible, to become Benchmark FCU members, and did so prior to the contest deadline. The minimal membership fee to join the credit union is $5.00.
“We are committed to financial literacy across Chester County and want to support financial success strategies from childhood on up through our financial literacy programs in more than 60 public, private and parochial schools, as well as our 2019 scholarship competition,” says Benchmark Federal Credit Union President and CEO Daniel J. Machon, Jr.
For almost a decade, Benchmark Federal Credit Union has been presenting scholarship checks to students across the region. A total of five scholarships are available each year. Three graduating high school senior students each receive a $4,000 scholarship ($1,000 disbursed during the Fall semester of their first four years of higher education). Two students currently enrolled in an accredited higher-education institution each receive a one-time $1,500 scholarship toward their fall 2019 tuition.
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