Affinity Federal Credit Union, Basking Ridge, N.J., has awarded $15,000 in scholarships to seven high school seniors. Recipients were selected based on academic achievement, extra-curricular activities, leadership ability, and essay composition.The Affinity Scholarship Program was created in an effort to promote scholastic excellence and continuing education among members. For more than 10 years, the program has helped deserving high school students with their first year of college. Since the program's inception, Affinity has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships. The 2005 Affinity Scholarship recipients are Joseph Abatemarco, Ashley Artis, Jesse Hampton, Ramya Kanukollu, Danielle Rosivack, Nicole Ryan and Leighanne Tillman. Escambia County Employees Credit Union, Pensacola, Fla., has presented the 2005 Al Evans Jr. Memorial $1,000 scholarship to Hannah Jolene Allen. Allen has been awarded based on her impressive high school academic and extracurricular accomplishments. The scholarship was established in memory of Al Evans, Jr. Evans was an ardent credit union supporter and a member of the ECECU Credit Committee for 14 years. Kinecta Federal Credit Union, Manhattan Beach, Calif., has awarded $2,000 Youth Scholarships to four Los Angeles teens. Winners were chosen for their academic achievement, community involvement and an essay on the topic, "How will financial responsibility affect your future and how can credit unions help you achieve your financial goals?" This year's deserving recipients include Sean Okumura, Gregory Boden, Jessica Schwarzberg, and Jordan Michael Smith. GTE Federal Credit Union, Tampa, Fla., has awarded $1,000 each to three students who entered its annual Scholarship Essay Competition. Scholarships were available in the following categories: high school, undergraduate, and graduate. The winners are: Kevin Drummond, Joseph Barber and Kristin Detwiler.Scholarship recipients were chosen based on their comprehension of the credit union philosophy, essay originality, thoroughness of answer, and attention to detail. Hershey Federal Credit Union, Pa., has has awarded its 2005 $1,000 Richard E. Fogleman Memorial Scholarship to Emily Whitmoyer. Hershey FCU has awarded the scholarship annually since 1996 to honor the memory of Fogleman who served as HFCU's Chairman of the Board of Directors for many years prior to his death in 1994. MCT Federal Credit Union, Rockville, Md., has awarded a total of $7,500 in scholarships to five deserving students. The Bill Teel Memorial Scholarship recipients are selected based on academic excellence, community involvement and essay responses. This year's winners are: Rebecca Bryant, Haris Khan, Anne Lyons, Alex Mitchell, and Sarah Monson.The Bill Teel Memorial Scholarships are named for the man who was the driving force behind making students in Montgomery County eligible to join the credit union. Teel, who passed away 14 years ago, was the data processing manager at MCT Federal Credit Union for many years and at one time was also the acting president and CEO of the organization. Silver State Schools Credit Union, Las Vegas, has recently awarded four New Teacher Certification and 18 Masters of Education scholarships. The New Teacher Certification scholarship is designed to assist in the recruitment of new teachers. The Masters of Education Studies scholarship enables a currently licensed teacher to enhance their professional development by pursuing a Masters Degree. Each scholarship awards $1,000 annually, renewable for a second year, and is awarded to the most deserving applicants, as determined by a selection committee. Texas Bay Area Credit Union, Pasadena, has awarded $1,000 each to five graduating high school seniors. The Royce Phares Scholarship Program honors the previous CEO of Texas Bay Area Credit Union, and was created to help support high school graduates in pursuing their education and goals.Recipients are selected based on their academic achievements and community involvement. This marks the first year the Royce Phares Scholarship has been presented. Credit Union Central Falls, R.I., has awarded five CUCF Scholarships. Recipients are selected based on academic excellence, financial need and personal essay. Each scholarship recipient received a check for $2,000, and a $25 deposit in a newly opened savings account. This year's deserving recipients include Stacy Lima, Stefanie Ferreira, Anthony Silva, Danielle Cortesa,and Ryan Cipriano. In addition, the Albert E. Landry Memorial Scholarship has been presented to Jessica Reinhardt. The Albert E. Landry Memorial Scholarship recognizes children of CUCF employees for their academic, extracurricular and community achievements. TUCOEMAS Federal Credit Union, Visalia, Calif., has awarded a $1,000 Education Exchange 2005 College Grant to Michelle Yoshida.The Education Exchange is sponsored annually by the ACCEL / Exchange electronic funds transfer network, owned and operated by Fiserv, Inc. Through the program, 34 high school seniors from across the country are selected to share a total of $50,000 in college grants. From an initial pool of over 5,000 applicants, grants of $1,000 and $5,000 are offered to students based upon scholastic achievement, community involvement, qualities of character and leadership, and financial need.