Mountain America Credit Union Awards $6,000 in Scholarships to Support Members' Academic Journeys
Students with distinguished records of volunteerism awarded financial aid to study a variety of majors; recipients’ community-impact goals to continue beyond graduation
SANDY, Utah — Mountain America Credit Union recently announced the names of three individuals, including Viliami Vakautakakala, Emma Robison and Nicholas Weiler, who will each receive a $2,000 scholarship for outstanding community service, leadership qualities and for continuing their academic journey with post-secondary education.
Since the scholarship program began in 2016, Mountain America has awarded scholarships to people across its six-state footprint. To qualify for financial aid, applicants must be credit union members with plans to pursue studies in one of three fields: community and social service, technology, or trade and finance.
For the 2022-2023 academic year, Mountain America Credit Union awarded Viliami Vakautakakala (community and social service), Emma Robison (finance) and Nicholas Weiler (technology and trades) with $2,000 scholarships to help them achieve their academic and financial dreams.
“At Mountain America, our purpose-driven identity is to ensure that everything we do moves our members forward on their financial journey,” said Sharlene Wells, senior vice president of public relations at Mountain America. “For the sixth year in a row, we are excited to award three individuals with scholarships for the way they have combined academic excellence with our ‘people helping people’ philosophy. I have no doubt they will continue to contribute in meaningful ways to the communities they represent.”
Below are highlights from student applicants awarded this year:
Vakautakakala, a senior from Richfield, Utah, dreams of becoming a cardiologist and rendered many hours of service by volunteering in his community as part of his school’s National Honor Society chapter. He also helped create a short film to raise awareness about overcoming mental health challenges as part of a schoolwide Suicide Prevention Week initiative. “I feel like I'm meant to be a doctor and I'm meant to help people in that way,” said Vakautakakala. Beyond his academic goals, he hopes to inspire more Polynesian American youth to study medicine and in turn, increase their representation in the medical field.
Outside of high school, Robison, from Murray, Utah, spends her time serving at the state’s food bank. Before graduating, she also raised money, donated and collected for a Primary Children’s Hospital initiative called Reach Out and Read, a nonprofit organization that distributes books to pediatric care providers to gift their patients and encourage early youth literacy. Her volunteerism includes time dedicated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Murray Association of Girls and mentoring a young woman with Down syndrome. Already a small-business owner, Robison plans to major in business management to establish other businesses. “I'm so excited to go to BYU and hopefully get accepted into the business program,” she said.
Weiler, from Woods Cross, Utah, wants to pursue a master's degree in information systems management to convert his passion for technology into opportunities for female youth. “Kids are playing games and they're watching videos, but how much are they really gaining from that? To create fun and entertaining, but educational content for young kids is really a dream of mine,” said Weiler. He explained his plans to teach youth how to use coding skills to obtain careers that help them increase their financial well-being. He spent his spare time volunteering in his university’s student organization to help create a welcoming atmosphere for other students with fun-filled activities that helped them reduce stress.
Next year’s application deadline is May 12, 2023. Winners will be notified, and their names announced on the company website, by June 2, 2023.
Online and print applications for next year’s scholarships will be available at macu.com/scholarships.
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