Culver's VIP Scholarship Awards Luci Sementa

Luci Sementa of Lombard switches roles from True Blue Team Member to Adrian Bulldog this fall she heads off to college. The Culver's of Addison employee is excited for this opportunity to further her schooling, and she credits a little of that to the Culver's Very Important Partners (VIP) Foundation, Inc.

Each year, the VIP Foundation awards team members with scholarships to further their education. This year, Sementa was chosen as a VIP recipient and won a $1,500 scholarship.

All applicants are required to have worked at Culver's for one year and total at least 500 hours. This year Culver's VIP Scholarship Program awarded $317,000 to 254 team members nationwide. A group of franchise partners, supplier partners and friends of Culver's make up the 48 judges who review the applications.

Sementa began working at Culver's in September 2012 when she was 16. While working and attending Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, her extracurricular time was devoted to synchronized skating. She competed with the Downers Grove Dazzlers, and the team recently took gold at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships.

This fall the 18-year-old brings her talent to Adrian College in Michigan, where she will study accounting and join both the collegiate and senior level skating teams. She plans to go back to work at Culver's while home on breaks, though, as she says she "loves working with such friendly people and never even thought about leaving the job."

The foundation's first scholarship was $500 in 1993, and it has since awarded over $2 million to more than 2,000 team members. For additional information about Culver's VIP Scholarship Program, visit www.culversvipfoundation.com.