May 7, 2019
Matthew Johnson, winner of The Summit Federal Credit Union’s 2018 “Locally Grown, Locally Committed Scholarship”, is a guest contributor for this post. Matthew reflects on his first year of college, and what the scholarship has helped him achieve.
This year’s winner will be announced at our Annual Meeting on May 8, 2019.
What The Summit’s Scholarship Meant to Me
With the next Locally Grown, Locally Committed Scholarship winner being announced soon, I reflect on why I believe The Summit chose me in 2018. I wasn’t incredibly social in high school. I wasn’t involved in every club or an “A+” student. But I did have a passion for community work, and poured myself into Boy Scouts. This focus on helping others shaped my character and ultimately helped me gain a scholarship.
Attending the Rochester Institute of Technology was a goal of mine since middle school. I would attend various community events at RIT and get to see the campus every time I went to the local Boy Scout Council’s Merit Badge University. As you can imagine, receiving my acceptance email from RIT was a momentous occasion.
I still vividly remember getting back from school some time during the end of my senior year at Pittsford Sutherland High School. My parents would always sort my mail from theirs, so when I saw a letter from The Summit, I expected it to be a monthly statement or some other form letter. You can imagine the genuine excitement I felt when I opened the letter to find out I would be receiving The Summit Scholarship. Feeling like a child on Christmas morning, I informed my parents of the news.
After this came the hard work of bridging the financial gap. Thanks to The Summit’s assistance, I was able to help make my dream a reality.
My freshman is coming to an end, and college has been a wonderful experience so far. Even though adjusting to college life was difficult at first, I have created so many great memories that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve on my own. I am participating in clubs I never would have considered. In addition to studying software engineering, I am taking other classes, such as a course on history from the 1500s, music theory and eSports. A well-rounded education is really important to me!
I am incredibly grateful for the chance The Summit gave me to achieve my dream of attending my number one school. I genuinely hope the next recipient of this award can achieve their goals with the financial assistance. Based on my experience, I’m confident they will.
Congratulations in advance to 2019’s recipient of The Summit’s Locally Grown, Locally Committed Scholarship!