U-46 accepting donations for 2015 Superintendent's Scholarship
Elgin Area School District U-46 is accepting donations for its fourth annual Superintendent's Scholarship Program, which offers $1,000 to exceptional students who are the first in their immediate families to attend college.
The scholarship was established in 2012 and has benefited more than 75 students and their families so far.
Ricardo Perez, a 2014 Elgin High School graduate, is studying civil engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He said earning the scholarship made him feel more confident in himself but was most important because of its benefit to his family.
"It helped relieve financial stress from my parents, who would have otherwise struggled to pay for college," Perez said.
The Superintendent's Scholarship is funded by generous community and business partners across the district. Donations can be made by phone or online by calling Karina Luviano at (847) 888-5000, ext. 8167, or going online to district.u-46.org/foundation.
Donate through the form on the left side of the page and make sure to indicate your funds should go toward the Superintendent's Scholarship.
Anthony Rosado, another 2014 Elgin High graduate and scholarship recipient, is using the funds toward his bachelor's degree in psychology from North Central College. He said the scholarship helped decrease the amount of money he had to take out in student loans during his first year of school.
"College expenses are always on the rise," Rosado said, "so receiving this scholarship helped put less of a financial burden on myself for now and in the future when I start paying back those loans."
The 2015 scholars will be announced in April and honored at a reception on April 29. Donations will be accepted on a rolling basis for this annual scholarship.
"We believe in our students and don't want money to keep any of them from a college degree," said U-46 CEO Tony Sanders. "The Superintendent's Scholarship depends on community donations to help these students, and our students are grateful for the support from our community to make their college dreams a reality."