2011 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. 

In 2011, some 130 union members and union family members have been awarded $150,000 in scholarships, ranging from $500 to $4,000.

2011 Scholarship Winners

$4,000 Winners
Chase A. Chamberlain, IUOE
Ramsey K. Daniels, AFT
Neimy K. Escobar, UNITE HERE
Nashira Funn, AFSCME
Holly J. LaCount, NALC
Kaitlin Murphy, AFSCME
Allen Wong, SEIU
Oscar C. Wong, SEIU
Zachary P. Zurfluh-Cunningham, IUOE

$3,000 Winner
Richelle E. Grosskopf, LIUNA

$2,000 Winners
Stephanie Apuzzo, CWA
Yesenia Barragan, OPEIU
Pierce C. Brown, LIUNA
Deirdre G. Buckley, USW
Davon Carangelo, APWU
Carolyn A. Carney, ALPA
Devin R. Carr, OPCMIA
Hanna Choi, AFT, ATU
Jean Y. Choi, AFT, ATU
Nevin P. Daniel, AFT
Marina F. Nogueira, AFT
Teresa Ou, APWU
Slydaar Rangwala, AFSCME
Christina Scelfo, IUOE
Joel Schneider, APWU
Robert S.R. Tyler, USW

$1,000 Winners
Hayden Amaro, ALPA
Erik Anderson, AFSCME
Anne M. Ballard, IBEW
Jason M. Baloga, IAFF
Thomas J. Bednar, CWA
Noah J. Connally, AFT
Gabrielle Dickson, UA
Haylee Donaldson, CSEA
Christine E. DuPouy, AFGE
Tyler Erikson, MEBA
Melissa Ertl, USW, AFSCME
Danielle Felde, TWU, UFCW
Anthony S. Flaherty, AFGE
Angelique Hrycko, UFCW
Madelaine Kingsbury, AFT
Connor Konz, NATCA
Irrawaddy Lamouth, AFSCME
Thomas J. Larmena, Jr., TCU
Lev Litichevskiy, IBEW
Yunqi Liu, IBEW
Meagan Martin, AFM
Bryan McComb, AFSCME
Angelique McGuire, IBEW
Aly M. McKnight, AFT
Ian P. McShea, IAFF
Rachel L. McWilliams, BLET
Cody Miller, IBEW
Jan Neuberger, AEA-AFTRA-SAG
Chibuzor “Andy” Nwaelele, IBT, AFSCME
Alyssa O’Connor, AFT
Parth S. Parihar, CWA
Radhika Rajan, AFGE
Francisco A. Romero, AFSCME
Culley Schultz, AEA-AFTRA-SAG
Joseph Toole, AFSCME
Dylan E. Webb, IBEW
Vera M. Wolfenbarger, UFCW
Donovan Wright, APWU
Siheng You, AFSCME

$750 Winners
Steve Boatman, SMWIA
Joy L. Cavanaugh, AFSCME, IBT
Hunter H. Coulombe, AFT
Tyler J. Dean, IBEW
Cynthia Giovannetti, TWU
Letisha Harris, LIUNA
Leanne Hinrichs, IUPAT
Jenna Leonardo, ILWU
Antonio B. Lloyd, III, IAM
Andrew M. Marra, UMWA, SEIU
Vincent Minichino, IBT
Danise K. Moyer, CSEA
Dylan Muschitello, UFCW
Amanda Rasmussen, AFSCME
David Whisnant, NATCA

$500 Winners
Amanda N. Bellamy, AFT
Crystal J. Bialas, SEIU
Garrett Bianchi, NATCA
Joshua J. Bourke, IUEC
Emily Burke-Franz, UA
Timothy Costello, CWA
Angelica Francois, UTU, AFSCME
Evan J. Griffith, AEA-AFTRA-SAG
Michelle Grota, CWA
Margaret Hallam, SMWIA
Mallory Hytrek, CSEA
Devon Jedamski, IBEW
Mathew Johnson, UTU
Jameson Jones, NALC
Joshua R. Jorenby, SMWIA
Christine Kalife, CSEA
Dayna Kasprowitz, OPEIU
Jennifer Kearney, IAFF
Bonnie Kong, UAW
Kimberly Kucharski, AFSCME
Megan Larsen, CWA
Dylan Leininger, AFGE
Ryan B. Leverone, UA
Phuong Luu, UFCW
Austin Madrid, NATCA
Ernest Mancini, Jr., IAFF
Uriah Markholt, IUOE
Samantha J. Marshik, IUOE
Andrea Moore, UAW
David Moore, AFSCME
Abbey Muzatko, AFSCME
Emma O’Connor-Brooks, AFSCME
Brandon Rowan, ALPA
Steven G. Sachs, UWUA
Brittiany Sanford, UAW
Kenneth Shaevel, CWA
Amber Simpson, ATU
Tyler Smith, IAFF, UA
James R. Swindell, Jr., ALPA
Zunera Syed, USW
Brittani Texeira, BCTGM
Hillary Tilden, IATSE, CSEA
Jennifer A. Vasquez, IAFF
Megan Veirun, IAFF
Hillary Villarreal, CWA
Hatsumi Yoshida, AFTRA-SAG

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.