FedChoice Charitable Foundation has announced the winners of its inaugural Educational Scholarship Program which supports college-bound high school students from the community.

FedChoice FCU and Foundation’s staff took part in the special award ceremony to celebrate the winners along with their families.

This year’s scholarship winners are:

• Jeremy Anderson from West Springfield High School, Springfield, VA
• Nicholas Boyd from College Park Academy, Springdale, MD
• Zarin Kornegay from Chesapeake Math and IT Academy South, Upper Marlboro, MD

Jeremy, Nicholas, and Zarin are all dependents of FedChoice Federal Credit Union members and Class of 2023 high school graduates. As part of their winning applications, each wrote an essay on the topic of financial literacy.

Specifically, students were asked to reflect on what financial freedom means to them. What does it mean to other young people in our country, including those in underserved communities? Applicants were invited to share their ideas on how young people could work with their credit union to transform local communities.

In his essay, Jeremy Anderson reflected, “When I got my first job, mowing lawns, I remember how good it felt the first time I made my ‘own money!’ As a young adult, I imagine financial freedom as being able to pay all of my bills and have money left over to save. Financial freedom is something that everyone deserves to achieve.”

Nicholas Boyd shared, “Having financial freedom provides a sense of security and peace of mind. For many young people in our country, especially those in underserved communities, financial freedom can be a distant dream.”

Zarin Kornegay wrote, “We need to learn more about investing, debt, and saving so that as we get older we can be financially free and not saddled with a lot of debt like the generations before us… Young people all over our country need to learn about financial freedom and literacy. I’m a firm believer that courses on money management should be taught at all levels in schools.”

The winners suggested that the Credit Union could offer seminars geared toward youth on topics like saving and avoiding credit card debt, sponsor investing clubs, and engage in tutoring programs or after-school activities within the community.

Jeremy plans to use his scholarship funds to study sports management at James Madison University. Nicholas is headed to Mount St. Mary’s University to work on his computer science degree, while Zarin will be attending Fayetteville State University majoring in criminal justice.

Brett Noll, President/CEO of FedChoice Federal Credit Union and FedChoice Charitable Foundation Board Chairman said, “It’s very rewarding to play a part in helping these deserving young people achieve their higher education goals. We have no doubt each will be very successful at the next level and beyond. It was an honor to meet each of them and their family members.”