Rent-A-Center has awarded $60,000 in scholarships to 60 high school and undergraduate students across the country, as part of the Make-A-Difference Scholarship Program. Twenty recipients were coworker dependents, while the remaining 40 were either customers of Rent-A-Center or their children.
Scholarships were awarded based on a number of factors, including academic and non-academic accomplishments, community activities, work experience, and educational and career goals. There were 250 applications.
Juan Mercado, son of an assistant manager at a Rent-A-Center-owned Get It Now store in Walworth, Wisconsin, expressed sincere gratitude via email.
“My mother cannot help me with my expenses because of the rent and basic bills that she needs to pay,” Mercado wrote. “This scholarship will be used to fill the missing gap for my college expenses. I am very grateful to receive this scholarship and thankful for Rent-A-Center.”
Scholarship beneficiaries must pursue their first undergraduate degree at an accredited two- or four-year college, university, vocational school, or technical school in the United States or Puerto Rico.
This year’s recipients were chosen from all Rent-A-Center, Inc. divisions including Get It Now, AcceptanceNOW, and Rent-A-Center Franchising:
- Mikalyia Trice, Abbeville, Ala.
- Terrence Henderson, Pheonix, Ariz.
- Bobbie Hogue, Merced, Calif.
- Marlia Maniatis, Santa Ana, Calif.
- Cheyenne, Mahon, Tamarac, Fla.
- Jessica Trosper, Northwood, Iowa
- Lissette, Hernandez, Ligonier, Ind.
- Jolivette Williams, Shreveport La.
- Jennifer Moore, Bradley, Maine
- Tyler Gray, W. Farminton, Maine
- Emma Baxter, Randolph, N.J.
- Jada Solomon, Newark, N.J.
- Julia Rushlow, Norfolk N.Y.
- Harlee Rush, Roseville, Ohio
- Kyla Ibarra, Muskogee, Okla.
- Mckenzie Gladney, Roland, Okla.
- Christy Ridolfo, Chalfont, Pa.
- Tyra Johnson, Cordova, Tenn.
- Latoya Johnson, Fort Worth, Texas
- Berenice Hinostroza, Dallas, Texas
- Jason Maynard, Huntington, W.Va.
- Katlynne Hytrek, Saratoga, Wyo.
- Benito Komadina, Jr., N.J.
- Abbigael Denman, The Colony, Texas
- Julia Vasilyev, Frisco, Texas
- Michael Vasilyev, Frisco, Texas
- Shoshana Zhang, Frisco, Texas
- Juan Mercado, Walworth, Wis.
- Giovanni Knight, Chesapeake, Va.
- Logan Matthews, Wilmington N.C.
- Stephanie Ibarra, Marana, Ariz.
“Supporting and empowering our customers, their children, and our coworkers’ children is an investment in our future,” said Gina Hethcock, Rent-A-Center’s senior public and community relations manager. “Our goals are to help students get a step ahead and give back to our customers and coworkers for their loyalty and support.”
Since 2004, Rent-A-Center has donated more than $730,000 to hundreds of students through the Make-A-Difference Scholarship program. Applications for 2018 begin this December.