This year Consumers Credit Union awarded 20 graduating seniors with scholarship for their coming first year of college. This year’s winners each received $500 and an iPad. These gifts are possible through funds collected from our coin machines and from Consumers employees themselves, who contribute to the scholarship fund through paycheck donations—a direct link from employees to the members they serve.

This year’s winners represented high schools from Holland to Battle Creek and were selected based on grads, SAT scores and a letter of recommendation.

“The level of academic achievement and community involvement these students demonstrate is truly admirable,” said Shannon Rocheleau, head of the scholarship committee. “I am honored to be a part of the Consumers Scholars program to recognize our student members’ hard work.”

Students also must submit an essay on an assigned topic. This year’s essay topic asked students to explain what they would uninvent if they could. Some students chose to uninvent health or environmental items, such as cigarettes or plastic. Another student uninvented Photoshop, which they believe would help people to embrace healthy, natural figures, not computer-born images. Others focused on technology, uninventing cell phones, social media or GPS; the latter because GPS creates the illusion that one should be able to travel from point A to point B without any obstacles or setbacks and without help from others. The essays were judged and winners were selected by a committee of Consumers employees.

The awards are given out every May or June, but scholarship information and application requirements are available here. Applications for 2019 will be accepted from January to mid-March.