Company Announces Recipients of New Bridging the Dream
Scholarship, Awards a Total of $100,000 to High School Students
Nominated by School Counselors
Sallie Mae Chairman and CEO Surprises Recipients in Front of
Family, Friends, and More than 500 Sallie Mae Employees Who Raised
$50,000 to Help Bridge the Dream
Four high school students from across the country traveled to Newark,
Del., as finalists for a new scholarship from Sallie Mae, the nation’s
saving, planning, and paying for college company; each student ended up
walking away with $25,000 as recipients of the company’s inaugural
Bridging the Dream Scholarship. Sallie Mae Chairman and CEO Raymond J.
Quinlan made the surprise
announcement at a ceremony in front of the students’ families,
friends, supporters, and more than 500 Sallie Mae employees, who played
an integral role in making the dream of college a reality for these
deserving students.
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The Sallie Mae Bridging the Dream Scholarship recipients. From left: Kayla Pinzur, Kendal Cooney, Bryana Blanco, and Quinton Lopez. (Photo: Business Wire)
The Sallie Mae Bridging the Dream Scholarship recipients, Bryana Blanco
of Pembroke Pines, Fla., Kendal Cooney, of Camden, Mich., Quinton Lopez
of Canoga Park, Calif., and Kayla Pinzur of Brewster, N.Y., were
selected after the company asked 20,000 high school counselors from
around the U.S. to nominate students who exemplify excellence both
inside and outside the classroom, have overcome obstacles, and have a
desire and dedication to make college happen.
Bryana
Blanco, 18, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., is a senior honor student at
West Broward High School. She was nominated by her school counselor,
Lisa Solovay, who noted Bryana’s motivation, academic success, and
affinity for helping others, even though her own family faces economic
challenges. She currently is president of the school’s Do
Something Club, a global community service organization, and she is
a member of the Thespian Honor Society, National Honor Society, and
Drama Club, activities she balances while tutoring her peers in all
academic subjects. Bryana plans to study nursing at the University of
South Florida, where she has already been accepted.
Kendal
Cooney, 17, of Camden, Mich., is a junior at Camden-Frontier High
School, where she excels in academics and athletics. Nominated by her
school counselor, Carmen Hughes, Kendal is a member of her school’s
student council, its Future Farmers of America chapter, and the National
Honor Society, and she is the student ambassador on the Camden-Frontier
School Board. She is taking four dual-enrollment college classes through
Jackson College, and ultimately hopes to attend the University of
Michigan. Kendal’s life took a dramatic turn when she lost her mother to
breast cancer in 2014. Inspired by her mother and those who cared for
her, Kendal is determined to reach college and enter the medical field.
Quinton
Lopez, 17, of Canoga Park, Calif., is a senior honor student at
Chaminade College Preparatory. He was nominated by his school counselor,
Jeff Fuller. A budding aerialist and gymnastics star, Quinton typically
puts in a 20-hour day, balancing multiple college-prep courses with
early morning aerial and cheerleading practice sessions, an after-school
job as a gymnastics instructor, and late-night study sessions, which he
starts after cooking dinner for his mother and siblings. He is also
passionate about helping others and he loves working with kids. He
dreams of becoming a pediatric surgeon.
Kayla
Pinzur, 17, of Brewster, N.Y., is a senior at Brewster High School.
Ranked near the top of her class, she excels at writing, science, and
the arts. She was nominated by her school counselor, Kate Simmons, who
describes Kayla as an inspirational young woman of exceptional integrity
and character, a person who is mature beyond her years, and someone who
has remained positive through personal and family struggles. Kayla is
passionate about dancing; she dances competitively and she spends time
working with younger students as a dance instructor. She aspires to
become a physical therapist.
Earlier this year, Sallie Mae employees around the country were
introduced to the finalists’ personal stories and circumstances and —
inspired by what they learned about each deserving student — organized a
host of fundraising events to support the scholarship. In just three
months, Sallie Mae employees raised $50,661, which was supplemented by
the company to reach a grand total of $100,000 for the Bridging the
Dream Scholarship.
“Our mission is to make the dream of higher education a reality, and —
as you might conclude from the extraordinary involvement of our
employees in making this scholarship a reality — all of us at Sallie Mae
are deeply committed to helping students and their families reach their
potential,” said Raymond J. Quinlan, chairman and CEO, Sallie Mae. “The
Bridging the Dream Scholarship exemplifies, in name and intent, what
Sallie Mae is all about, and we are proud to be a part of a community of
school counselors, administrators, community organizations, and
corporations that want to help families across America make college
happen.”
The Sallie Mae Bridging the Dream Scholarship is part of the company’s
continued commitment to helping students and families make college
happen. Over the last year, the company introduced new
products to help families save for college, launched initiatives
that encourage families to plan for college, conducted research
and partnered
to create materials
to help families understand and manage credit, and continued to offer
competitive private education loans for students
and now parents
to cover any gaps in college financing. The company is also investing
millions to enhance multiple aspects of the customer
experience from application through repayment and has moved all
private education loan customer service to the United
States.
To see video
footage of the Bridging the Dream Scholarship award ceremony, and
for more information, including tips, tools, and resources on saving,
planning, and paying for college, visit SallieMae.com.
Sallie Mae (NASDAQ: SLM) is the nation’s saving, planning, and
paying for college company. Whether college is a long way off or just
around the corner, Sallie Mae offers products that promote responsible
personal finance, including private education loans, Upromise rewards,
scholarship search, college financial planning tools, and online retail
banking. Learn more at SallieMae.com.
Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are
not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.
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