Charter Oak Awards $96,000 in College Scholarships

Waterford, CT – Charter Oak Federal Credit Union awarded $96,000 in college scholarships, the largest disbursement in the credit union’s history, during a private reception at its headquarters on Tuesday, May 30, 2017.

“Nearly $270,000 has been awarded over the past three years, benefitting over 130 students in eastern Connecticut,” said Brian A. Orenstein, Charter Oak’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our scholarship program has alleviated some of the financial burden associated with pursuing a college degree.”

Students attending high school in New London or Windham County have a significant advantage with Charter Oak’s scholarship program. The credit union, for the third year in a row, pledged to reward at least one high school senior from each eligible high school in New London and Windham counties with a $2,000 scholarship. At least one application was received from almost every high school within the two counties.

The credit union’s scholarship program was first expanded in 2015 and has since grown into a $90,000 college scholarship giveaway benefitting 45 students, each with a $2,000 scholarship.

In addition to the credit union’s $90,000 scholarship giveaway, its Community Outreach Committee chose to pool their funds and to award an additional $6,000 in college scholarships. Funding for these three scholarships was made possible by the generous employees at Charter Oak who donate three dollars each week in exchange for dressing casually on Fridays. Community Outreach Award recipients included Erin Kieltyka from Killingly High School; Abigail Bryce Teczar from Killingly High School; and Jordane Virgo who is a student at the University of Connecticut. 

Annual Scholarship Recipients from New London County are Jane Coates, Science & Technology Magnet School of Southeastern CT; Donovan Davino, Wheeler High School; Emily Davis, Norwich Technical High School; Emma Furgueson, The Williams School; Madison Gileau, Griswold High School; Katie Hatfield-Spendolini, Norwich Free Academy; Seth Hisman, Lyman Memorial High School; Rebecca Johnson, Bacon Academy; Charles Lyden, East Lyme High School; Daniel Marcolina, Robert E. Fitch High School; Kaitlyn McGuire, Norwich Free Academy; Emma Miller, Stonington High School; Alexander Nave, Saint Bernard High School; Caleigh O'Neil, Lyme-Old Lyme High School; Courtney Riley, Robert E. Fitch High School; D. Major Roman, New London High School; Jordan Sabo, Ledyard High School; Dominic Salvagna III, Norwich Free Academy; Angela Ye Su, Waterford High School; Arianna Athenian, New England Institute of Technology; Monique Dudar, Skidmore College; Amy Karlberg, Southern Connecticut State University; Kevin Sikorski, Parson's School of Design; Nicholas John Turrisi, Boston University; Quinlan Wood, Keene State College; and Christina Cruz, Connecticut College.

Annual Scholarship Recipients from Windham County are Jacob Clark, Parish Hill High School; Benjamin Heaney, Marianapolis Preparatory School; Caitlin Martelle, H.H. Ellis Technical High School; Lindsay Roberts, Putnam High School; Adrian Salustri, Windham Technical High School; Jessica Semancik, The Woodstock Academy; Travis Shashok, Windham High School; Collin Singleton, The Woodstock Academy; Olivia Swanson, Killingly High School; Taylor Ware, Tourtellotte Memorial High School; Lela Miller, UCONN; and Alicia Watson, Plainfield High School.

Charter Oak is eastern Connecticut’s largest credit union with assets of $1.02 billion as of March 31, 2017. Charter Oak has an expansive and convenient network of 16 branches serving New London and Windham counties, providing one of the largest and most convenient branch networks of any financial institution serving eastern Connecticut. For more information about Charter Oak’s broad range of products and services, please visit any of our convenient branches, or visit our website at CharterOak.org, or contact our Call Center at 860.446.8085 or 800.962.3237. Federally insured by NCUA. Equal Housing Lender. 

Charter Oak Federal Credit Union is like a bank, just better! We've been proudly serving eastern Connecticut since 1939 and we offer great checking, deposit, lending, insurance and investment products. And because we're a credit union, we're owned by our members, not by shareholders. So we can offer lower rates on loans and higher rates on deposits. It's easy to become a Charter Oak member: simply live, work, worship, learn, or volunteer in New London or Windham counties. So join today and see why Members Bank Better at Charter Oak! Learn more at CharterOak.org or visit any of our convenient branches, or simply call 860.446.8085 or 800.962.3237.