Education First Announces 2020 Scholarship Recipients

Education First Credit Union is excited to announce the 2020 recipients of the Credit Union’s annual scholarship program. Each year, Education First awards 5 scholarships of $1,000 each to deserving students. Students are selected based on academic accomplishments, community service and extracurricular activities.

This year’s winners are Joy Ayinde of Centennial High, Angelina Coles of Bexley High School, Rachelle Rogers of Tulane University, Emma Thompson of Central Crossing High School and Justin Wade of Westerville Central High School.

Joy Ayinde plans to attend Ohio State University in the fall, where she wants to double major in Biology and Psychology on a Pre-Medicine track. Ayinde would like to become a Neurosurgeon. She currently volunteers at a local hospital and interns at the Central Ohio Leadership Academy. She created a sorority mentorship group called Girls Auxiliary where older girls mentor younger high school girls. Ayinde was President of her school’s academic club. She was also a Student Government Official and worked as a math tutor.

Angelina Coles of Bexley High School has taken several mission trips to the Dominican Republic, where she helped locals build homes and mentored disadvantaged youth. She is currently an intern at Flying Horse Farms, (a camp for terminally ill children). She played varsity field hockey for her high school this year and sang in the Vocal Ensemble travel choir.

Rachelle Rogers is a freshman at Tulane University, where she is studying Cell and Molecular Biology and Dance on the Pre-Med track. Her current GPA is 3.8 and she is on the Dean’s list. Last year, Rogers graduated from Upper Arlington in the top 10% of her class with a 4.18 GPA. She is a dancer with Columbus Dance Theatre’s Intensive Training Program. She is also a competitive water skier and a camp counselor; leading hikes for kids through Hocking Hills. She volunteers for Young Life, a Chirstine organization for high school students.

Emma Thompson, graduated from Central Crossing High School this summer. In her spare time, Thompson volunteers for the Ohio Special Olympics swim team. She was a peer math tutor at her high school this year and also sang in the school choir. Thompson was a competitive swimmer, a member of the school’s tennis team and ran track and field. Thompson is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes club. Her goal is to become a physical therapist

Justin Wade of Westerville Central High School is a National Honor Society member. He was involved with his school’s Computer Science Club and wants to major in Mechanical Engineering in the fall. He played both Volleyball and Soccer for Central High. He also volunteered as a Junior Mentor. He is a Church Life Youth Group leader and a member of the Boy Scouts.

Congratulations to the recipients! We look forward to seeing all your great future achievements!

To this date, Education First has awarded over $160,000 in scholarships for local students.