Black Hills Federal Credit Union, Rapid City,S.D., announced the recipients of the 2013 VIBZ scholarships. Thesix high school seniors were selected from more than 50 applicantsfrom 16 area schools in western and central South Dakota. Each willreceive a $1,000 scholarship toward attending the college of theirchoice. The recipients are members of Black Hills Federal CreditUnion's VIBZ teen program, which is designed to promote financialliteracy among young adults and assist them in effectively managingtheir personal finances. The 2013 recipients are Shelby Burtzlaff,Spearfish High School, who plans on attending Mitchell TechnicalInstitute; Kassandra Herding, Rapid City Central High School, whoplans on attending South Dakota School of Mines & Technology;David Langerman, St. Thomas More High School, who plans onattending South Dakota School of Mines & Technology; Ray McKee,Homeschool in Nemo, who plans on attending Cedarville University;Dakota Nelson, Rapid City Stevens High School, whose future collegeis undecided; and Jarrett Weimer, Hot Springs High School, whoplans on attending Musicians Institute.

BluCurrent Credit Union, Spring­field, Mo.announced three winners of the BluCurrent Harry Witherspoon $2,000Scholarships: Louis Claussen of Springfield, Pamela Morris also ofSpringfield, and Coy Schrode of Ozark. Applications for thescholarships were offered exclusively to graduating high schoolseniors that are ­members of BluCurrent, and this year were doubledfrom the $1,000 offered previously to $2,000 each. Claussen is aClaussen Homeschool Academy graduate, a lifetime member ofBluCurrent and plans to attend Missouri State University to pursuea degree in music. Morris is a Central High School graduate andplans to attend Drury University to pursue a degree in molecularbiology before going on to medical school to become a pediatriconcologist. Schroder is an Ozark High School graduate. He has onlymissed one day of school during his entire high school career andplans to attend University of Missouri to pursue a degree inmechanical engineering before going on to enlist as a commissionedofficer with the United States Marine Corps.

Charter Oak Federal ­Credit Union, Groton,Conn., has awarded $14,000 in scholarships to seven local students.Five students were awarded with a community scholarship. Recipientswere Jessica Rae Dastous of Brooklyn, a Killingly High Schoolstudent; Lariah Maynard and Sethulakshmi Babu of Groton, who bothattend Robert E. Fitch Senior High School; Lauren Biernacki ofNorth Grosvenordale, who attends Tourtellotte Memorial High School;and Taylor Alexander Sulik of Danielson, a Pomfret School student.Two additional scholarships were awarded in memory of two longtimeemployees, LuAnn Dugas and Louise Jackson. The LuAnn Dugas MemorialScholarship was presented by Tom Dugas, husband of the late LuAnnDugas, to David Stephen Webster of Norwich, who attends theUniversity of Connecticut – Avery Point. The Louise JacksonCommunity Outreach Scholarship was presented to Annemarie Lussierof East Lyme, who attends East Lyme High School. The communityoutreach scholarship is funded entirely by Charter Oak employees,who raise money by paying a small fee each week to participate inthe credit union's casual-dress campaign.

Day Air Credit Union, Kettering, Ohio,awarded two $1,000 scholarships to Lance Crockett and AustinNeumeier. Day Air Credit Union's scholarship is based on academicachievement, extracurricular activities, community serviceinvolvement and an essay on financial literacy. Crockett is asenior at Bellbrook High School and will be attending theUniversity of Cincinnati in the fall studying engineering. Duringhis high school years, he was on the honor roll all four years,played soccer, was on the varsity swim team, was part of NationalHonor Society and was a student council representative. Neumeier iscurrently a freshman at the University of Dayton studyingmechanical engineering. He is from Xenia, Ohio and is a 2012graduate of Carroll High school. In addition to his course load atUD he plays intramural soccer for UD, and was admitted into theUniversity of Dayton's honor program.

First Financial of Maryland Federal CreditUnion, Lutherville, Md., awarded 49 college scholarshipsof $3,000 each to graduating high school seniors within its fieldof membership. The 2013 scholarships recognized academicachievement and commitment to school and community. Students fromhigh schools in Baltimore and Carroll County Public Schools as wellas the private schools within the credit union's field ofmembership were eligible to apply. One $3,000 college scholarshipwas made available to each of these schools. Additionalscholarships were made available to ­existing student/members whoattend schools outside of the credit union's field of membership.Students were asked to write an essay, submit references and have2.5 minimum GPA. Funding for the scholarship program is madepossible through the KidsFirst Fund. Through this program a portionof member purchases made with a First Financial FCU Visa creditcard is donated to help children in the credit union community.Since the fund's inception in 1989, First Financial FCU has donatedover $2 million to benefit children; over $900,000 has been givenin scholarship awards.

Gulf Winds Federal ­Credit Union, Pensacola,Fla., announced the recipients of the 2013 Gulf Winds ScholarshipProgram. The Gulf Winds scholarships honor pioneer members fortheir dedicated service to the credit union and its members. Inmemory of these distinguished members, the scholarships areestablished in their names. The award is a $2,500 scholarship toassist three deserving credit union members who are high schoolgraduates and are beginning their first-year of undergraduateeducation. These scholarships will provide a one-time award for useat any accredited college, university or trade school. Three $2,500scholarships were awarded to the following students, who are alsomembers of Gulf Winds. Nora Breann Rolin is a senior at theEscambia Academy in Atmore, Ala. She has been accepted foradmission to Faulkner State Community College where she willcomplete her associates degree in science and then transfer to adifferent school to pursue a career in anesthesiology. Shane Howellis a senior at Milton High School and is also dual enrolled atPensacola State College. He has been accepted for admission to theUniversity of Florida to pursue a degree in theatre. Luke Fillingimis a senior at Tate High School and has been accepted to theUniversity of West Florida to pursue a degree in architecture.

Honor Credit Union, St. ­Joseph, Mich.,announced the winners of its annual community commitmentscholarships. The scholarships provide an ­opportunity for HonorCredit Union to ­recognize the passion that many students have forvolunteering in their community. Applicants were judged onvolunteer efforts, as well as an essay detailing how communityservice has impacted their life. Each student was awarded $1,000.Recipients this year were Paige Janawski, River Valley HS; GielleKuhn, Andrews Academy; Joseph Agay, Lake Michigan Catholic HS;Elizabeth Anderson, Plainwell HS; Davis Baker, South Haven HS;Hayden Stoub, Berrien Springs HS; Matthew Dunaj, St. Joseph HS;Caroline Arny, Coloma HS; Alexis Nowacki, Lakeshore HS; KaliyahDrake, Benton Harbor HS.

Langley Federal Credit Union, Newport News,Va., recently presented four members with the Jean M. Yokum $5,000College Scholarship award for academic achievement. The fourwinners were Khalyiah Brown, Christopher Crowe, Gabriella McLemoreand Xinye Zhang. Brown will graduate from Heritage High School. Sheis a member of the National Technical Honor Society, YouthVolunteer Corps. and Youth Leadership Academy. Her love of animalsinspired her long-range goal to become a veterinarian. Crowe willgraduate from York High School. He has participated in thementorship program at NASA Langley's Crew Systems & AviationOperation Branch and is the co-founder/co-president of theHorticultural Society. He plans to focus on a career in biomedicalengineering that deals with immunology and infectious diseases.McLemore will graduate after being home schooled, in addition to­attending Thomas Nelson Community College. She has tutored middleschool students in math since 2001 and was the recipient of theAWANA Citation Award in 2013. Gabriella plans to attend JamesMadison University to study being an Occupational Therapist. Zhangwill graduate from Grafton High School. He has attended TheGovernor's School for Science and Technology since 2011 and hasbeen the recipient of the Outstanding Student Award three years ina row (2010-2012). Xinye plans to pursue a career in the world offinance, with the hopes of one day working on Wall Street. The JeanM. Yokum College Scholarships are awarded to successful applicantswho are members of LFCU's Constellation Club. The club is designedfor children through the age of 18 and provides a tool for parentsto teach their children the importance of financialresponsibility.

Silver State Schools Credit Union, Las Vegas,has announced its 2013 college scholarship winners. Each of thesescholarships awards $2,000 annually, renewable for up to fouryears, and is awarded to high school seniors who are credit unionmembers and who demonstrate excellence in academics, athletics andcommunity service. Of the six scholarships, four were named forlong-time volunteers Arlene Parkinson, Bart Roche, Leonard Petoskeand William Moore. The two remaining were known simply as SSSCUscholarships. These scholarships were renamed this year to honorTerry Mannion, current board chair and SSSCU volunteer for over 20years, and Harold McKay, SSSCU founder, and its first manager.Arlene Parkinson Scholarship went to Laura Andrea Prieto, Las VegasAcademy, who will graduate first in her class of 372 students witha weighted GPA of 4.7. She intends to pursue a degree inbiological studies with a view to becoming a pediatric physicaltherapist for children with disabilities. Bart Roche Scholarshipwent to Coronado High School's Wen Jay Tan, who will graduate firstin his class of 693 students with a weighted GPA of 4.77. Hisacademic achievements include scoring the highest possible score onsix AP exams. Tan wishes to pursue a career in computer engineeringor software design. Leonard Petoske Scholarship went to SharonMalwane of Coronado High School, who will graduate first in herclass of 693 students with a weighted GPA of 4.8. Malwane hasapplied and been accepted by UNLV to study biology and ­medicine.Her goal is to become a physician and to set up a freeclinic to serve the poor and homeless. William Moore Scholarshipgoes to Emma Berkowitz from ­Centennial High School, who willgraduate first in her class of 721 seniors, with a weighted GPA of4.7. She is planning on attending Cal Poly Pomona topursue a degree in chemical engineering. Terry Mannion Scholarshipgoes to Nicolas Vaughn from Clark High School who has achieved anoverall weighted GPA of 4.67. He intends to studyNeuroscience. The Harold McKay Scholarship goes to Andrew Miller,of CSN High School, West Charleston Campus. He will graduate thisJune with 48 transferable college credits, and a GPA of 4.2. Andrewwill attend UNR and intends to study biology.

Vantage Credit Union, St. ­Louis, awarded 20area high school seniors with “Quest For Education Scholarships”Each award was for $1,000. Winners were judged on a combination ofstudent-written essays; appropriate honors and awards;participation in extracurricular, community and volunteeractivities; recommendation letters; and credit union membership.Volunteer scholarship judges consisted of local educators, Vantageboard and supervisory committee members, and select employees.Students from 13 public and five private schools, in both Missouriand Illinois, won scholarships. In the past 29 years, Vantage hasawarded over $572,500 in scholarships to area high schoolseniors.