Union Plus 2005 Scholarship Winners

$150,000 awarded in 2005 to 120 students representing AFL-CIO unions

The Union Plus Scholarship program is an example of the U.S. labor movement's commitment to higher education. Click here and learn more about the scholarship. Since 1992, Union Privilege, through the Union Plus Scholarship program has helped fulfill the educational dreams of students representing more than 13 million working families across the nation.

The Union Plus Scholarship awards are presented annually to union members or members of their families who want to begin or continue their secondary education. Download the 2006 Union Plus Scholarship application.

$4000 scholarship recipients

• Zakiya Carter (AFSCME)
• Sunil B. Daniel (UAW)
• Esteban Felix (IATSE)
• Sarah J. Fink (AFT)
• Andrew David Haws (APWU)
• Channing R. Jones (NALC)
• Christopher Lance (CWA)
• Eric Ng (UNITE HERE)
• Christopher M. Pesto (AFGE)
• Vanessa A. Saba (AFT)
• Sarah Stillman (UAW)

$2500 scholarship recipients

• Arpan Patel (AFSCME and APWU)
• Victoria Portnoy (SEIU)
• Brett Schilke (GMP)
• Kashika Sharma (UNITE HERE)

$2000 scholarship recipients

• Neha Chauhan (AFT)
• Hazel Chi (UNITE HERE)
• Samuel Daly (AEA)
• Matthew Guido (LIUNA)
• Christopher Joel Heide (IUOE)

$1000 scholarship recipients

• Griffin Louis Albrecht-Fearonce (APWU)
• Jenner David Alpern (AFSA and AFM)
• Frank M. Ambrosio, III (IBEW)
• Songgan Atthajaroon (UNITE HERE)
• David Huynh Banh (NALC)
• Adrienne Michelle Barnes (IBT)
• Mariel Rose Boyarsky (AFSCME and AFT)
• Larissa Boz (AFT)
• David Brady (IAFF)
• Jennifer Brush (AFM)
• Kathy Burden (SEIU)
• Kristen Bury (AFT)
• Christine F. Carpenter (IFPTE)
• Anthony Chen (APWU)
• Tara Cochran (IUPAT)
• Brian Conway (AFT)
• Alberto Di Michele (UFCW)
• Suzanne Marie Droste (UAW)
• Megan Earnest (UAW)
• Raphael D. Fennimore (IRON)
• René Flores (IATSE)
• Caitlin Rose Fox-Hodess (UAW and IATSE)
• Rebecca S. Frazier (APWU)
• Bryan Furman (CWA)
• Cody James Gallo (LIUNA)
• Adrienne Nola Gentry (UAW)
• Jordan Renée Gilchrist (SEIU)
• Charlotte Glennie (AFT)
• Unooyalyn Greham (SEIU)
• Jody Hanneman (OPEIU and IAM)
• Peter Harper (AFT)
• Brenden H. Heiberger (IUOE)
• Cassey Ho (BCTGM)
• Vester Howard, III (AFGE)
• Wilbur Kang Hu (IUPA)
• Emily Hudson (UFCW)
• Brianna L. Jones (BLE)
• Ali Kimyaghalam (UFCW)
• Bruce E. Krause, Jr. (APWU)
• Bradley Logan (IFPTE)
• Nina Ma (UNITE HERE)
• Heeren S. Makanji (UAW)
• Marella Jessie Gale Martin (AFM)
• Holly Meredith Martin (IBT)
• Pascha McAlister (NPMHU)
• Nathaniel Lee Mikle (IBB)
• Adam Molon (USWA)
• Janelle Moody (IBEW)
• Yen Nhi Nguyen (BCTGM
• Nicholas Olszyk (AFSCME)
• Joseph Pasqualichio (AFSCME)
• Jack Paulo (LIUNA)
• Vitaliy Petruk (UFCW)
• Ashton-Travis Etrata Queja (IBT)
• Adam J. Rensing (UMWA)
• Amanda Michelle Richardson (USWA)
• Kristin Riddle (IAFF)
• Joseph Runkle (CWA)
• Lisa Marie Salazar (NPMHU)
• Sarah Schoenbrun (AFM and SEIU)
• John M. Sienkiewicz (UFCW)
• Zonette Tam (ILWU and IAFF)
• Danielle A. Tatsuno (AFSCME)
• Elina Tetelbaum (AFSCME)
• Tara Noel Tighe (IUOE)
• Kyle Wang (AFT)
• Joren Wendschuh (AEA)
• Zhe (Julia) Xu (TCU)

$750 scholarship recipients

• Lisa DiGregorio (GCIU)
• Drusilla Grice (IATSE)
• Ashley Jacob (UFCW and IBT)
• Olga Ramirez (AFSCME)
• Ashley K. Stengel (BLE)
• Alice M. Todd (AFGE)

$500 scholarship recipients

• Tshaka Armstrong (CWA)
• Alesha A. Benedict (BAC)
• Jeannie Grace Bengie (UMWA)
• Robert Chase Branham (IBT)
• Darleen R. Clark (CSEA)
• Stefanie L. Crow (UAW)
• Corey H. Fusco (AFSCME)
• Cheryl Ann Haynes (BRS)
• Cherie Kemp (RWA)
• Anthony Wyatt King (NALC)
• Patrick W. Nash (IRON)
• Patricia F. Nelson (AFSCME)
• Ashley Renee North (OPEIU)
• Rachel L. Pantoja (AFT)
• Christopher N. Pelletier (UFCW)
• Lauren Faye Schmidt (IUOE)
• Lauren Schultz (AGMA)
• Jemini Shah (CWA)
• Adrian Shanker (CWA and AFT)
• Kelsey Rae Snyder (IBEW)
• Jacques Von Lunen (IATSE)
• Jeremy P. Walco (UFCW)
• Maria Yoder (USWA)

Challenging Process

The students selected for awards represent a wide sampling of demographics, union affiliations, goals and accomplishments. Representatives from the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the United Negro College Fund judged the applications.

According to the judges, the caliber of students this year made the selection process very challenging. The students are from diverse backgrounds, and as a whole, they received top SAT scores, were well-rounded in their studies and extracurricular activities, and they understood the value of working families and union membership.

How the Scholarship Program Works

In addition to demonstrated academic ability, applicants submitted essays of no more than 500 words describing their career goals, detailing their relationship with the labor movement, and explaining why they are deserving of a union scholarship.

The program is open to union members, their spouses and dependent children of unions that are participating in any Union Plus program. Individuals must be accepted into an accredited college or university, community college or recognized technical or trade school at the time the award is issued. Members do not have to purchase any Union Plus program product or participate in any Union Plus program to apply.

The Union Plus Scholarship Program is offered through the Union Plus Education Foundation.

Applications

For information about obtaining the Union Plus Scholarship application, click here. Each year, the application deadline is January 31 and chosen scholarship recipients' names are announced May 31. Due to the high volume of applications, only winners receive notification.