MCT awards $6,000 in scholarships in memory of a former employee

July 14, 2010 - PRLog -- MCT Federal Credit Union recently awarded four student members of MCT with $1,500 college scholarships through the credit union’s annual Bill Teel Memorial Scholarship program.

The Bill Teel Memorial Scholarship was created in memory of a former MCT employee who helped bring innovative technology to the organization in the 1970s and 1980s. He is remembered as a model employee with a strong work ethic who always went above and beyond his duties to help the organization, and this scholarship is given to students who hold similar qualities.

“MCT is first and foremost an educational credit union, so we’ve always placed a strong emphasis on education, from pre-K to higher education,” says MCT President and CEO Thom Beck. “This is why it is so important for us to finance multiple scholarships every year.”

The following four MCT members were awarded with Bill Teel Memorial Scholarships for the fall 2010 semester:

Tiara Cobbin—Laurel, Md. (University of Maryland, College Park). Cobbin aspires to work for the United Nations as a Human Rights Officer or a Foreign Policy Advisor after receiving a master’s degree in international relations and a bachelor’s degree in Government and Politics. “I want to be an advocate of the people; not just the American people, but for humanity,” explains Cobbin. “I hope that my coursework in international relations will prepare me to find solutions to inhumane acts by building foundations that encourage growth.”

Deborah Cooke—Laurel, Md. (Montgomery College). After working as an award-winning realtor and teaching English and religion in South Korea, it took a trip halfway around the world to Beijing for Cooke to discover that her true calling was nursing. “I realized that nursing is my true vocation after my tour guide sprained her ankle,” recalls Cooke. “She was in excruciating pain, so I offered her my shoulder as support. I then took her to a quiet area and stayed with her until the paramedics arrived.” Cooke will attend Montgomery College this fall to take pre-requisites required for the Georgetown University Nursing Program.

Kara Karpman—Rockville, Md. (Duke University). As a mere college sophomore, Karpman has already held Biospheric Sciences internships with NASA where she helped develop a model to estimate global food security and helped pinpoint climactic conditions affecting the spread of Rift Valley Fever. Her work on the global food security model was published in the American Geophysical Union in 2007. Karpman is thankful for this scholarship, and explains, “It’s my dream to use my math skills in epidemiology or public health and the only way achieve these goals is to get through college and graduate school.”

Josiane Tossa—Frederick, Md. (University of Maryland, College Park). Like Karpman, Tossa also hopes to enter the health field. Her long-term goal is to become an accredited Pharmacologist and conduct research that will aid people living in rural parts of the world. “I always knew I wanted to go into the medical field to help treat people with illnesses,” explains Tossa. During high school, Tossa prepared for her future career by attending a program for Biomedical Science at the University of Maryland and volunteering with the Society of Toxicology in Baltimore.

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MCT Federal Credit Union is a 60-year-old credit union with more than 60,000 members headquartered in Rockville. Md. MCT strives to provide exceptional member service in a friendly, professional manner, encourage savings and the wise use of credit and increase members' knowledge and ability to manage their financial future and security. For more information, visit mctfcu.org.