Students Receive College Assistance

As the cost of living continues to climb, three area college students will have fewer worries when it comes to their college tuition thanks to scholarships provided by Tropical Financial Credit Union. This year, the South Florida credit union awarded three scholarships totaling $10,000--one grand prize of $5,000 and two $2,500 awards to deserving students.  

The credit union created this scholarship program more than 10 years ago to help local students further their education. The scholarship winners are:    

• Sarah Salazar, from Coral Springs, is the recipient of TFCU’s $5,000 scholarship. She is a homeschooled student graduating with a 4.1 GPA and hundreds of volunteer hours spent giving back to the community. Sarah will major in Studio Arts and Business Administration and has narrowed her final choice between Palm Beach Atlantic University and Florida Atlantic University.  

• Quinn Feerick-Hillenbrand, from Coral Springs, is one of the two $2,500 scholarship winners. After graduating from Plantation High School, he will be heading to Saint Louis University in Missouri to major in aviation. He is in his fourth year of the Aerospace Technologies and Design program, a unique program in Florida where he was given the opportunity to work with NASA designing, building and flying experimental rockets. Quinn’s sister, Shannon, won the $5,000 scholarship last year and has finished her first year at Brown University and has earned an internship this summer at the University of Miami Law School.  

• Nathan Adler, from Miami, is TFCU’s $2,500 non-traditional scholarship winner. Nathan is currently attending Covenant Theological Seminary majoring in Master of Divinity. It involves late nights and long hours since he is also juggling a full-time job and family. He is also a clerk and ruling elder at Granada Presbyterian Church in Coral Gables.  

“The team looks forward to handing out these scholarships every year since we get to learn so much about the students we are impacting,” said Rick Shaw, President/CEO. “We are looking forward to seeing how far these deserving members go by setting these important educational goals.” 

All the applicants were required to submit an essay highlighting their personal and educational objectives and how Tropical Financial has helped, or could help, them reach financial goals. Other factors considered: community involvement, charity work and extracurricular activities.  

About Tropical Financial Credit Union 

Based in Miramar, Florida, Tropical Financial Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial institution whose deposits are federally insured.  Anyone who lives or works in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Lee, Collier, Hendry and Sarasota Counties is eligible to join. Tropical Financial Credit Union was formed in 1935 by employees of the former Southern Bell with just a few hundred dollars and has grown to $1 billion in assets.  For more information, log on to www.tropicalfcu.com.