First Trust Credit Union Awards Scholarships to La Porte and Westville Seniors in 2018

First Trust Credit Union Awards Scholarships to La Porte and Westville Seniors in 2018

First Trust Credit Union is proud to have awarded seven $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors at high schools in LaPorte, Porter and Jasper Counties. First Trust offers Bachelor’s Degree scholarships, and scholarships for seniors pursuing an Apprenticeship, Certification, or Associates Program. Scholarship winners are chosen based on their enrollment in an accredited institution for post secondary education or training, scholastic achievement, involvement in high school and community activities, an essay, and a letter of recommendation from a teacher.

First Trust’s LaPorte Branch awarded a $1,000 scholarship to a LaPorte High School graduating senior, Abigail Zila, and to Westville High School graduating senior Hayley Meyers.

Zila plans on attending Indiana State University and her intended course of study is Nursing. With her strong academic achievements she has earned an overall GPA of 3.89. Other achievements include National Honor Society, Varsity Swim Team (all 4 years), and various clubs including Girl Reserves which focuses on empowering girls and participating in community service. Her involvement in community service is quite impressive, as she has been serving the community through National Honor Society (2 years), Girl Reserves (4 years), and recently with the Interact Club where they work with the Rotary Club of LaPorte on numerous community service projects. It’s obvious that she has a heart for serving with her choice of Nursing for a future career. She is considering pediatric nursing, and then possibly working toward becoming a Nurse Practitioner in the future.

Meyers received the $1,000 scholarship awarded to a senior pursuing an Associates/Apprenticeship/Certification. She plans on attending Ancilla College and her intended course of study is Animal Science - with plans to become a Vet Technician.

With her strong academic achievements, she has earned an overall GPA of 3.2. She has proven to be quite the athlete (playing basketball for 2 years and volleyball all 4 years of High School). Perhaps one of her most impressive accomplishments is that she has been a member of FFA (Future Farmers of America) for the past three years, holding positions of reporter and Vice President. It was obvious from her application that she has a heart for animals, as her interest in becoming a Vet Tech began at age 13.

Additional $1,000 scholarship winners for 2018 included: Madelyn Gondeck of Michigan City High School, daughter of Tim Gondeck and Michele Passmore; Joseph Funk of Washington Township High School, son of Andrew and Jennifer Funk; Nicholas Raymond of Kankakee Valley High School, son of Nick and Deena Raymond; Gavin Tillema of Kankakee Valley High School, son of Richard and Misty Tillema; and Payton Ritchie of Kankakee Valley High School, daughter of Mark and Jenelle Ritchie, was the recipient of a one time Arnold Bass education scholarship for a student pursuing a teaching degree.

$8,000 in Scholarship Applications will be available to 2019 graduating seniors this fall. $4,000 will be awarded for students pursuing a traditional Bahelor’s degree, with an additional $4,000 available for graduating seniors pursuing an Apprenticeship, Certification, or Associates Program that does not require a four-year degree. Applications can be picked up at school guidance offices, or downloaded from the First Trust website at www.firsttrustcu.com. For further information contact Dana Koselke, Human Resources Director, at (219) 877-2305, or via e-mail at dkoselke@firsttrustcu.com.