2009 Heartland Scholarship Winners

Applicants for the 2009 Scholarships were asked to complete an essay and take a picture of themselves telling us how they would have to raise money to pay for school if they didn't win the scholarship. Each applicant was judged on their essay and the creativity of their photo. The top five photos were posted online for three days and everyone was invited to vote!

In just three days over 37,000 online votes were cast! The applicant with the most votes was awarded a $1,000 scholarship and the second and third were awarded $500 each.

Receiving a $1,000 scholarship is Robert Rousseau of St. Paul, MN. Robert wrote:

"I appreciate that the credit union looks out for me by transferring money from my savings to checking if I’ve made an error on my check register or have been too busy to call and request a money transfer. Many of my friends have had costly overdraft charges from their bank, but not me. My credit union cares about me and makes sure that all my funds are available to put toward my education."

Receiving a $500 scholarship is Amanda Weber of St. Paul, MN. Amanda wrote:

"I first signed up for a Heartland Credit Union account when I was in elementary school. I had a Bean Sprout account and my parents encouraged me to put birthday money and allowances in that account instead of spending it. In third grade I became the treasurer for my 4-H club. Even though I was not old enough to sign the checks for the group, I learned how to write checks and how to balance a checkbook. With the responsibility for all of that money I really learned the importance of keeping track of money and how to do just that.

I really started to use my Bean Sprout account when I was old enough to baby sit. I always would put at least part of my paycheck for the night into that account to save for things like college. In 7th grade my parents helped me get my own checking account so I was able to write checks for my own school activities such as field trips and school lunch."

Receiving a $500 scholarship is Nicole Pederson of Inver Grove Heights, MN.
Nicole wrote:

“The credit union helps me keep track of things by giving me accounts The credit union helps me keep track of things by giving me access to useful tools and information that will help me to be a responsible person with my money during college and after.
 

Along with many other things, online banking has made checking my account and keeping track of my spending simple. With a click of my mouse I get to see how much I have in savings and checking as well as what I’ve spent and where. I also love to see how much I’ve been paid from my work with the help of direct deposit. I can move what I want to hold on to into savings and what I want to allow myself to spend into checking."