Concord, NH - On May 18, four NH college students received $5,000 college scholarships from the College Equals Opportunity (CEO) program in recognition of their leadership qualities and academic talent. CEO is a statewide public awareness campaign sponsored by the NHHEAF Network Organizations that highlights the college experiences of NH business leaders. Since its inception in 2004, CEO has awarded $105,000 in scholarships.

The scholarship recipients received recognition at the "Becoming Leaders through Service & Community Engagement" event held at the Event Center at CR Sparks. The program featured a panel of successful business leaders including: Nick Soggu, Founder and CEO, Silver Tech; Gray Chynoweth, Dynamic Network Services Inc.; Betsy Gardella, CEO, NH Public Radio; Cathy Burnham, Founder, SpeakEasy Communications; Amanda Grappone Osmer, Grappone Automotive and Tom Raffio, President & CEO, Northeast Delta Dental. Each addressed the audience about their own volunteer experiences and the essential role community involvement plays in their personal and professional growth.

Local nonprofits dependent on volunteers to fulfill their mission hosted tables to highlight available volunteer opportunities with their organizations. Nonprofit organizations present at the event included the Animal Rescue League, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Capital Region Food Drive, City Year, Digital Media Academy, Enterprise City, NH Food Bank, NH Jump$tart Coalition, NH Teen Institute, The Youth Council, Volunteer NH and Youth Venture.

The scholarship program would not be possible without the contributions of the following business leaders and their organizations:

• Alison Stebbins, Regional General Manager, Fidelity Investments
• Sean Mahoney, Publisher, Business NH Magazine
• Alyson Pitman Giles, CEO, Catholic Medical Center
• Thomas Raffio, President & CEO, Northeast Delta Dental
• Erin Zaldastani, President and CEO, Windham Professionals
• Charles Rolecek, President, The Premier Companies
• Jeff Feingold, Editor, NH Business Review
• Gary Zabierek, President & CEO, Hillcrest Terrace
• Rob Finlay, Managing Partner, Hillcrest Management, LLC

The four scholarship recipients were:

Richard Emberley of Jaffrey, NH is entering his junior year at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Richard’s ideal dream job would be as a CEO of a business specializing in fire protection engineering and fire analysis, his current Civil Engineering and Fire Protection Engineering major aligns perfectly with this goal. If given endless funds to do anything in life, Richard stated he would, "choose to remain exactly where I am. I desire to become a fire protection engineer and certified fire investigator, preventing loss of life and property motivates me. If my resources were limitless I would put them into that dream." Richard is also a seasoned trumpet player, recently returning from a tour of Ireland with the WPI orchestra.

Meredith Lee of Hooksett, NH will be a senior at the University of New Hampshire, majoring in Classics. Meredith is an avid reader who dreams of someday working in such a place as the Boston Athenaeum or the Library of Congress and dedicating her life to promoting the importance of literacy in her community. When asked what makes a great leader, Meredith stated, "The best leaders are motivated to succeed beyond all others and are moved to make some definitive change in the world, no matter if that change is in a student organization, a small community or a great nation."

Leah Nye of Auburn, NH will be a senior at Rivier College. With aspirations to someday be a Nurse Practitioner, Leah is majoring in Nursing and enjoys spending time hiking, boating, camping and discovering beautiful artwork. Leah believes a true leader must "continuously set new goals and focus on following through by establishing communication and rewarding relationships along the way," and admires President Obama for his intelligence and compassion. Leah volunteers with the Sierra and Lyon’s clubs and has organized an environmental education workshop for children and raises money to assist in care for the elderly.

Suzanne Wichland Meredith, NH is entering her senior year at Springfield College, majoring in Human Services. Suzanne dreams of working with families affected by autism and autism spectrum disorder. If given the opportunity to do anything in life, Suzanne would build a community based organization that provided resources and education to the community to support others in their pursuit of their dreams. Suzanne believes that, "by helping one another not only do we empower one another we have the selfsatisfaction of knowing we can be contributors to our neighbors and communities." Suzanne also enjoys spending time outdoors with her six children.

To learn more about the CEO program, visit www.nhceo.biz or contact the NHHEAF Network Organizations at 800.525.2577.

The NHHEAF Network Organizations are comprised of four 501(c) (3) nonprofit organizations that provide students and families with the resources and funding to pursue higher education aspirations. Funds generated by the Organizations make their charitable mission possible as student loan earnings are reinvested in programs and services that benefit citizens of New Hampshire. For more information, visit www.nhheaf.org.

Posted 05/20/09 to www.NASFAA.org. Posting of press releases is done as a service to Members and does not imply endorsement or support by NASFAA. NASFAA does not review this information for content or accuracy.