AFSCME Advantage Scholarship Winners
Ten children of AFSCME members and one member himself are winners of the 2002 Union Plus Scholarship awards. In total, 101 students representing 32 AFL-CIO unions received $150,000 in scholarships.
Bridget Draxler, daughter of Wisconsin Local 774 (Council 40) member Pat Draxler, captured a $3,000 scholarship. Bridget graduated at the top of her high school class with a 4.4 GPA and plans to teach literature at the college level. Her mother — who worked at the county library while studying for her library science degree — is Bridget's inspiration. "Her life has taught me the power of books, the importance of setting goals and the necessity of education to reach these goals."
The nine other "AFSCME Kids" each received a $1,000 scholarship: Shubha Bhar,daughter of New York Local 375 (DC 37) member Bijay Bhar; Brandi Faith, daughter of Illinois Local 3600 (Council 31) member Robert Faith; Kiri Feldman, daughter of Washington, D.C., Local 3300 (Council 26) member Ellis Feldman; Jennifer Glum,daughter of California Local 2703 (Council 57) member Gail Hepper; Anthony Kosky,son of Ohio Association of Public School Employees/AFSCME Local 4 member Lois Kosky; Jimmy Mark, son of New York Local 372 (DC 37) member Ya Jun Mark; Iva Pokorny, daughter of New York Local 1501 (DC 37) member Yvetta Pokorny; Kristin Stanton, daughter of Ohio Local 2729 (Council 8) member Eloise Stanton; Tyler Van Put, son of New York Civil Service Employees Association/AFSCME Local 1000 members Edward and Judy Van Put (Tyler is also a CSEA member).
Michael Carter, a member of Oregon Local 3669 (Council 75), won a $500 scholarship. Carter is a returning student with 33 years of construction experience. Maintaining a 4.0 GPA, he is almost halfway through work leading to an associate's degree in business technology making him eligible for a new job with "a salary that approaches the wage I made as a union carpenter." A union member since he was 14, Carter looks forward to finishing his studies so he "will have more time to devote to union activities."
The scholarship competition is open to AFSCME members, their spouses and dependent children who have been accepted into an accredited university, college, community college or recognized technical or trade school at the time the award is issued. Participation in Union Plus programs is not required. Applications for the 2003 awards will be available in September 2002 and can be downloaded from theUnion Plus section of the AFSCME website. Or send a postcard with your name, return address, telephone number and International union affiliation to: Union Plus Scholarship Program, P.O. Box 34800, Washington, D.C. 20043-4800. The deadline is Jan. 31, 2003. Winners will be announced by May 31, 2003.
