Aug. 23, 2023 By Ethan Marshall
The Cathay Bank Foundation announced the winners of its 2023 scholarship on Aug. 15. After receiving 533 applications, the foundation chose 20 applicants to get the $1,000 scholarships.
The scholarship is meant to act as a hallmark of the Cathay Bank Foundation’s commitment towards supporting education and empowering high school seniors who have shown a lot of promise as they begin their pursuit of higher education goals. The $1,000 scholarship provides each winner with financial assistance towards their tuition costs as they prepare to start college in the fall.
“We congratulate the 2023 Cathay Bank Foundation Scholarship recipients,” Cathay Bank Foundation Chair Deborah Ching said. “This year’s overwhelming response and the diversity of the applicants demonstrate this program’s growing recognition in the community. We are grateful to the Asian Pacific Community Fund for their tireless efforts in the selection process. I also want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all Cathay Bank volunteers who meticulously reviewed the applications and selected the final 20 recipients.”
The 533 applicants this year represented a 70% increase from 2022, when there were 314 people who applied. The Asian Pacific Community Fund, the program administrator, assisted in reviewing the applications, narrowing down the number of candidates to 326. From that point, approximately 150 Cathay Bank volunteers reviewed the applications from the remaining candidates and chose the 20 winners.
“These 20 exceptional students have demonstrated outstanding academic achievements, leadership qualities and a deep commitment to their communities,” Cathay Bank Senior Vice President and Director of Community Development William E. Becker said. “They embody the scholarship’s spirit and serve as role models for their peers.”
The winners of the scholarship are from New York, New Jersey, Texas, California, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Massachusetts and Washington.
The winners from New York were Genevive Chang and Zoe Shack. Madison Logan Render and Victoria Rios were the winners from New Jersey. Brian Thai and Dan Truong were the Texans who were chosen. Brandon Quach, Maya Wong, Saad Omar and Shani Su were from California. Immanuel Ogundipe and Moises Munoz were from Illinois. Jasmine Spencer and Stecia Nazziwa are from Maryland. Anna Kova and Samantha Wagner of Nevada were also selected. Glorimar de los Santos and Shauna Sperou were the Massachusetts natives picked. Finally, Hadassah Choi and Naia Woods were those from Washington who were selected.
Awarding this scholarship reflects the Cathay Bank Foundation’s commitment to investing in future community leaders as they empower these individuals towards accomplishing their dreams and making a large impact on society in the future.
The Cathay Bank Foundation was founded in 2002 with the mission of creating opportunities affordable housing, community and economic development and education. Additionally, the foundation provides support for programs that focus on arts and culture, health and welfare and environmental and human services that benefit the communities at large.
Cathay Bank has a presence within the Queens community as well. There are four locations, at 82-62 Broadway in Elmhurst and 40-14/16 Main St., 36-54 Main St. and 41-48 Main St. in Flushing.