Covenant News

CRC 2004 Scholarship Recipients Announced

CHICAGO, IL (June 21, 2004) - Scholarship recipients for 2004 have been announced by Covenant Retirement Communities (CRC), administered by Covenant Ministries of Benevolence of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

The scholarship awards are made possible by the generosity of residents and other interested individuals to provide post-high school scholarships to dependents of employees.

Scholarship winners are:

• Kristin Byington: her mother is Jackie Byington, campus director of recreation therapy, activities and adult day care at Covenant Village of Golden Valley. Kristin will attend the University of North Dakota in the fall and participate in the occupational therapy program focusing on geriatrics.
• Kelly Knight: her mother is Sherry Knight, RN at The Samarkand. This fall Kelly will enroll at one of the several schools to which she has applied. She will major in international studies and take advantage of a study abroad program.
• Chelsea Pouncey: her father is Scott Pouncey, IS manager in the central office. Her passion is missions with a focus on being a translator. She will attend Liberty University in the fall.
• Monica Ries: her mother is Barbara Ries, assisted living coordinator at The Holmstad. Monica will attend Western Illinois University majoring in pre-nursing to eventually become a physician's assistant.
• Jerry Simon: his mother is Nadine Simon, CNA at Covenant Village of Northbrook. Jerry plans to attend either the University of Tennessee or Southern Illinois University. He is interested in life-long learning and would like to be a "teacher" in his workplace, community and family.
• Thushari Wijesinghe: her mother is Lalitha Chandrasena, personal care aide at The Samarkand. Thushari will attend the University of Santa Barbara in the fall majoring in biology. After graduating she plans to apply to medical school an ultimate goal of becoming a cardiologist and dedicating her life to finding solutions to heart disease, the number one killer in America and many other countries.

The scholarship committee received 38 applications - the committee reviewed blind copies of applications (identity of the applicant, his/her parent, position and campus were removed). Priority is given to the current year's graduating high school seniors. Consideration is also given to educational and career pursuits consistent with CRC values, an essay that demonstrates 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.

Scholarships 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. Thus a scholarship could be less than $1,000 if educational expenses are less than $4,000.

This year's selection committee included Jack Harriff, vice president of employee management/ development; Kevin Peterson, national director of training and employee development; Neil Warnygora, campus administrator at Covenant Village of Northbrook; LeRoy Wilson, associate administrator at Covenant Village of Colorado; Ruth Altergott, campus human resources director at Covenant Village of Florida; and Jane Westerfield, national director of human resources.

Scholarship applications for 2005 will be available next spring.

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