Tropical Financial Credit Union Awards $5,000 in Scholarships

Miramar, Fla.� Tropical Financial Credit Union, a not-for-profit financial institution that serves Southeast Florida, has awarded five $1,000 scholarships to local students headed to college in the fall. �The five received their checks during a ceremony on July 29^th at credit union headquarters in Miramar. This is the second year for the program designed to help students further their education. Two of the recipients are from Palm Beach County, two from Broward and one is from Miami-Dade. They are:

• Cortland Brigham, from West Palm Beach, who will attend Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia
• Jordan Suarez, from West Palm Beach, who will attend the University of Florida in Gainesville (although hes already gotten an early start by attending summer classes).
• Joshua Davis, from Tamarac, who will be attending Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne
• Jose Oliva, from Miramar, who is enrolled at Pasco-Hernando State College in New Port Richey, Florida

In addition to these four students who graduated high school this past spring, Tropical Financial also gave out one non-traditional scholarship a new category for adults already out of high school, but who want to continue their education. Its available to someone, for example, going back to school after being in the workforce or someone trying to obtain a graduate degree. �The inaugural non-traditional scholarship went to Crystal Reed of Opa-locka who will be getting her grad degree from Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania. "I want to congratulate all of this years scholarship recipients," said Rich Helber, president/ CEO of Tropical Financial Credit Union. "By helping young people pay for their education, we are starting them on a path to one day becoming financially independent.� As a credit union, assisting people achieve financial prosperity is one of our top priorities." All of the applicants were required to submit a 500-word essay highlighting their educational goals, personal objectives and outlining ways in which Tropical Financial has, or could, help them reach financial goals. Other factors considered are community involvement, charitable works and extracurricular activities. �To be eligible, the applicants had to live in the tri-county area, have a high school GPA of 2.5 or better and already be enrolled in an accredited college or vocational program. About Tropical Financial Credit Union Tropical Financial Credit Union is a non-profit financial institution whose deposits are federally insured. The $575 million institution serves South Florida with nine branches. People who live or work in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach Counties can join the credit union, which was founded in 1935. For more information on Tropical Financial Credit Union, visit www.TropicalFCU.com.