2009 Union Plus Scholarship Winners

Union Plus Scholarship Program provides more than a decade of higher education support for working families

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 post-secondary education.

2009 Scholarship Winners

$4,000 Winners
Tani E. M. Brown, AEA
Charlotte Burger, CWA
Erica Cheung, UNITE HERE
Michelle Eberhart, USW
Thomas P. Joseph, AFSCME
Neil D. Menon, ALPA
Christa E. Moore, UFCW
Celia Ou, AFM
Brianna K. Pang, IFPTE
Valerie Pucilowski, AFSCME
Christopher Rendall-Jackson, AGMA
Susan Zemcik, AFT

$3,000 Winners
Lauren Gwinn, TWU
Emily N. Hart, AFSCME
Stephanie Lau, BCTGM
Jeff McNerney, ALPA

$2,000 Winners
Aderonke Aderonmu, SEIU
Brian Chin, APWU
Rebecca Clark, SEIU
Madeline A. Court, USW
Brian C. Delfs, IAFF
Kiley L. Djupstrom, UAW
Cydney Dupree, ALPA
Phillip Dupree, ALPA
John Ertl, UFCW
Molly Gilmore, NALC
Nicholas P. Hilgeman, AFSCME
Colin T. Hirsch, UFCW
Ilyssa M. Irving, IAFF
Shayla A. James, CWA
Christina J. Johnson, TWU
Jessica Jones, AFT
SaraJane Kukawka, BAC
Holly J. LaCount, NALC
Samantha A. Magyar, IBEW
Sean McElwain, IBEW
Ross A. Nakahara, APWU
Michael A. Natole, Jr., AFSCME
Erica Nwankwo, SEIU
Rebecca Osborne, IBEW
Lizette Ramirez, IUOE
Carrie A. Scherr, BAC
Gary P. Schmidt, Jr., IUOE
Elizabeth M. Soc, BCTGM
Daniel B. Totten, CWA
Margaret L. Wyman, AFT

$1,500 Winners
Chelsea O. Anderson, AFT
Travis Benaiges, TWU
Crystal J. Bialas, SEIU
Corey Campbell, UFCW
Aaron Cantor, AFSCME
Kelley R. Smith, AFSCME
Molly K. Tullis, IUOE
Mara Willemin, UAW
Reese N. Wilson, AFM
Keith W. Wright, IAFF

$1,000 Winners
John Arsenault, AFT
Jeffrey J. Artus, IUOE
Ashley S. Aydin, APWU
Delia Barajas, USW
Andrew M. Barna, AFSCME
Caroline Bensfield, AFT
Jessica Birchwell, GCC-IBT
Kelsey Bonsell, APWU
Alexander Bores, CWA
Meagan C. Bracken, IBEW
Norah Carroll, AFSCME
Gilberto Chaidez, Jr., UNITE HERE
Erica A. Chandler, CWA
Katie Christensen, UFCW
Heather D. Costella, IRON
Matthew J. D’Armi, UFCW
Shirlana Dash, AFSCME
Steven W. Davis, AGMA
Youri Dekker, AFT
Alysia D. Dupuy, SAG
Scott G. Earl, AFT
Bryan J. Greel, AFSCME
Toni McBroom, IAM
Jordan McGroarty, AFSCME
Fai Murphy, IRON
Vanessa Myrick, AFT
Margot O’Meara, SIU
Sarah A. Patellos, ALPA
Jonathan E. Pfluger, IUOE
Andrew Portener, CSEA
Joshua Primas, CSEA
Taylor Reckert, UFCW
Rachel C. Resnik, UNITE HERE 
Delanie Ricketts, AFT
Steven G. Sachs, UWUA
Alicia Salmeron, CNA
Nichole L. Shields, APWU
Pawel Sieradzy, UNITE HERE
Alejandro Sills, OPEIU
Steven Spriggs, IAM
Courtney Stiles, AFT
Matthew J. Tarchick, UAW
Travis C. Thayer, CSEA
Caelan Urquhart, LIUNA
Jeffrey Vargas, BCTGM
Brian Wainwright, SMWIA
Kaitlin R. Williams, UTU
Turner J. Wright, IBEW

$750 Winners
Paula Barretta, AFT
Kelli Burrell, IBEW
Erik M. Culross, AFSCME 
Kendra Heredia, LIUNA
Angela M. Higgins, UA
Joanna Kim-Dover, NPMHU
Cathy J. Kron, AFSCME
Azirae C. Leonard, USW
Debora K. Wallace-Wood, AFSCME
Lesa A. Woitas, AFSCME

$500 Winners
Kristin E. Barber, AEA
Samantha R. Brown, AFGE
Larry A. Davis, UAW
Scott A. Dubay, IAFF
Lilia A. Garcia, CSEA
Charles A. Hansler, BMWED
Joshua W. Helsel-Raymond, NALC
Christopher Hernandez, UFCW
Michael J. Lyons, SEIU
Cynthia Manning, OPEIU
Jacquelyn McGinnis, UFCW
Rachel S. Miller, IAFF
Virginia O’Leary, TWU
J. Scott Ramsey, CWA
Joseph W. Rose, IBEW
Jesse P. Rubio, IV, IAFF
Shonda Smith, IAM
Elsann Southwick, IUE-CWA
Stephanie Testani, AFSCME

 

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.