LOS ANGELES — On Wednesday, August 11 Cathay Bank Foundation held a virtual award ceremony to recognize the high school senior recipients of the 2021 Cathay Bank Foundation Scholarship. Each recipient will receive a $1,000 scholarship used to cover tuition costs for attending a college or university as a full-time student this fall.
“Cathay Bank Foundation is happy to invest in these outstanding young adults and see them achieve their dream of furthering their education,” said Bill Becker, SVP, Director of Community Development of Cathay Bank. “We received applications from many talented young people who already exhibit great leadership skills with an appreciation for community service. We are excited to see what the future holds for them.”
On behalf of the Cathay Bank Foundation, Co-Chair Deborah Ching thanked the Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF) for its assistance. APCF is the program administrator for the Cathay Bank Foundation Scholarship and has been so for the past three years. Chun-Yen Chen, Executive Director of APCF, attended the award ceremony and extended congratulatory messages to the scholarship recipients.
The award ceremony was held virtually for the second year in a row, for the health and safety of the attendees. Each scholarship recipient gave an acceptance speech, expressing their gratitude towards the Cathay Bank Foundation and shared their plans for college life and goals after graduation.
This year, Cathay Bank Foundation received 438 scholarship applications from California, New York, Washington, Illinois, Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Nevada. Cathay Bank engaged 87 employees nationwide who volunteered to review and score the application essays. The APCF analyzed the scores and selected the scholarship recipients.
The scholarship recipients are as follows:
- Southern California – Reena Dadrah, Daniella Giron, Grace Corinne Karanick, Joanna Lov Ngo, Saya Seraj, Amy Tran
- Northern California – Benjamin Leong, Veronica Liu, Juliana Zeng
- Illinois – Julian Kristopher Cole
- Maryland – Laila Ananda Flores
- Massachusetts – Julie Leung
- Nevada – Reina De La Paz Castaneda
- New Jersey – Travis Anane
- New York – Jennifer Chen, Madison Spanodemos
- Texas – Nao Misan Pongrog, Ranjita Roka
- Washington – Alexis Sorm, Fiona Wang.
Cathay Bank Foundation, founded in 2002, has a mission to create opportunities in the areas of affordable housing, community and economic development, and education. The foundation also supports programs focusing on culture and arts, health and welfare, and environmental and human services that benefit the communities at large. Visit cathaybankfoundation.org for more information.