Alpena, MI – Northland Area Federal Credit Union recently awarded $10,000 in 2022 Jerry Erickson Educational scholarships to 10 local member students pursuing higher education. Northland named this scholarship program for the late Jerry Erickson, a retired volunteer, and Veteran who served the credit union for 46 years. Northland’s President and CEO, Pete Dzuris, said, “We are indebted to Jerry’s knowledge, vision, and commitment, which propelled us to where we are today. Education was important to him, and through his legacy, we strive to help our student members reach their academic goals. On behalf of Northland, we congratulate the outstanding 2022 scholarship winners and wish them great success!”

The Jerry Erickson Scholarship program furthers one of Northland’s most vital efforts: to expand access to education for student members in our local communities. Award recipients are Northland Members in good standing, with a minimum 3.00-grade point average, who are pursuing further education. They are chosen based on academic achievement, leadership, community service/involvement, and essay content. Scholarship Coordinator, Alane Taylor, said, “We are proud to support our student members and, ultimately, our community. Each year we ask scholarship applicants to write an essay on a different topic. For example, this year, we asked students; “if they were to develop a financial education program, what topics would they consider most relevant, why, what format they would use, and how they would measure success.” Their answers help us to serve our members and our community better.”

The Scholarship Awardees are as follows:

Justin Boughner, Alma College

Elizabeth Heath, Northwood University

Bryce Moon, University of Michigan

Charleson Shuart, University of Michigan

Olivia Hemker, University of Michigan

Kyle Reynolds, Central Michigan University

Natalie Hoadley, Michigan State University

Cole Katterman, Saginaw Valley State University

Kevin Billeter, Hope College

Amber Van Goethem, Grand Valley State University

The Scholarship Committee at Northland expressed thanks to all of this year’s applicants for their effort to apply for the 2022 Jerry Erickson Scholarship Award. We wish all of the applicants much success with their college careers.

NAFCU is a member-owned credit union, serving 44,874 members in 27counties in Northern Michigan. For more information about Northland Area Federal Credit Union, visit northlandcu.co