Connecticut Community Foundation Awards over $950,000 in College Scholarships
WATERBURY—College will be more affordable for more than 370 students residing in Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills thanks to scholarships awarded by Connecticut Community Foundation for the 2020-21 academic year. The awards total more than $950,000 and are for students attending two-year and four-year schools across the country. This also includes scholarship support that will be awarded later this year to students at Naugatuck Valley Community College and Central Connecticut State University; those institutions will determine and direct those scholarships to worthy students, many of whom are “non-traditional”—at different stages of life and careers.
Julie Loughran, president and CEO of Connecticut Community Foundation, said, “College is a time for students to explore new opportunities and envision a bright future, but for many the stress of paying for college can be overwhelming. Through scholarships, we aim to reduce that stress for scholars from Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills, so they can focus on their futures instead of their finances.”
Over decades, donors have established more than 140 college scholarship funds at the Foundation to benefit area students. Among the largest scholarship providers in Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills, the Foundation has made nearly 6,000 awards from these funds—totaling over $11 million—to local scholars over the past twenty years. One of those scholars is Rudin Lloga of Waterbury, who received a $5k scholarship for the 2020-21 academic year from the Elizabeth H. Andersen and Nina E. Andersen Scholarship Fund. Lloga will be majoring in Engineering at the University of Connecticut in the fall. He said, “When I came to America, I did not know English and felt very out of place. Math was the only subject that helped me build a connection with others. During my middle school career, I was invited to a presentation from Sikorski. That presentation introduced me to engineering. Later, high school research projects solidified my interest in biomedical engineering. This scholarship will help me to fund my educational goals as it would help put a dent on the high out-of-pocket expenses that colleges would require me to pay. More importantly, it will help me achieve my life goal of acquiring a Ph.D. and the first dream that I had when we first came to America of getting a quality education.”
View the complete list of students by town who have been awarded scholarships by Connecticut Community Foundation for the 2020-21 academic year at www.conncf.org/scholars. To learn more about establishing a scholarship fund at the Foundation, visit www.conncf.org/create-a-fund/.
Established in 1923, Connecticut Community Foundation fosters creative partnerships that build rewarding lives and thriving communities in 21 towns in Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills. The Foundation provides leadership in addressing the region’s critical issues, strengthens local nonprofit organizations through grants and technical assistance programs, and works with individuals, families and corporations to administer charitable funds. Learn more at www.conncf.org.
