Covenant News

Retirement Communities Awards Scholarships

CHICAGO, IL (June 5, 2003) - Seven young people have been selected to receive scholarships awarded by Covenant Retirement Communities (CRC) that are designed to provide financial assistance for dependents of CRC employees.

Recipients of the $14,000 in scholarship funds were selected from a pool of 28 qualified applicants. This year's selection committee reviewed blind copies of applications that carried no personal identification information in making the awards.

Recipients include:

• Cathy Ponce, $1,500 award. Her mother is Catalina Ponce who works at Covenant Village of Northbrook. Cathy will attend Oakton Community College in the fall and following completion of her associate's degree will transfer to Loyola University and pursue law.
• Dawn Jones, $2,000 award. Her mother is Pamela Jones who works at The Holmstad. This fall Dawn will enter the Academic Exploration Program at Bradley University, allowing her the opportunity to enroll in a variety of courses while she narrows her major focus.
• Kathryn Levine, $2,500 award. Her mother is Christina Levine who works at Covenant Village of Florida. Kathryn was recruited by the University of Tampa to play on its women's soccer team. Her career goal is to work in the medical field, possibly in nursing or pharmacy.
• Matthew Bufe', $1,000 award. His mother is Maggie Bufe' who works at Covenant Village of Colorado. Matthew will attend the Art Institute of Denver Culinary Arts Program for an associates arts degree. His dream is to someday open his own restaurant.
• Michelle Peterson, $2,000 award. Her father is Thomas Peterson who works at Windsor Park Manor. Michelle plans to attend either Bethel College or Taylor University. She is passionate about language and communicating as well as psychology, music and missions.
• Stephanie Lock, $2,500 award. Her mother is Anne Arakaki-Lock who works at Covenant Shores. While Stephanie has not yet made a final decision on college, her educational goal is an eventual Masters in Business Administration and law school.
• Tara Leitner, $2,500 award. Her mother is Donna Leitner who works at The Holmstad. Tara will attend the University of Missouri - Columbia to study journalism with a possible minor in business.

According to the rules governing the award of scholarships, the number of annual scholarships may not exceed 25 percent of the number of qualified applications received - thus a maximum of seven scholarships could be awarded this year. Scholarships may range from a minimum of $1,000 to a maximum of $2,500. However, an individual scholarship may not exceed 25 percent of the educational expenses (tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment required for enrollment and courses, excluding room and board) as confirmed by the school.

Priority is given to the current year's graduating high school seniors and consideration is also given to intended educational and career pursuits consistent with CRC values, an essay demonstrating a defined educational and/or career goal (communication and writing skills are not part of the criteria), and a student's involvement in extra-curricular activities.

This year's selection committee included the vice president of employee management/development, the national director of training and employee development, the national director of human resources, Steve Karnes (campus administrator at Covenant Village of the Great Lakes), Paula Sparling (health care administrator at Bethany Covenant Village and Covenant Village of Golden Valley) and Tracey Cook (human resources director at Windsor Park Manor).

Scholarship applications for 2004 will be available next spring.

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