IUOE Family Members
IUOE Family Members Awarded 2016 Union Plus Scholarships Winners Honored for Achievement and Union Values UNION PLUS RECENTLY awarded 0,000 in scholarships to 104 students representing 32 unions, including five winners representing the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). This year’s group of scholarship recipients includes university, college, and trade or technical school students from 32 states. The Union Plus Scholarship Program, now in its 25th year, awards scholarships based on outstanding academic achievement, personal character, financial need and commitment to the values of organized labor. The program is offered through the Union Plus Education Foundation. Since starting the program in 1991, Union Plus has awarded more than million in educational funding to more than 2,700 union members, spouses and dependent children. Union Plus Scholarship awards are granted to students attending a two-year college, four-year college, graduate school, or a recognized technical or trade school. The selection process is very competitive, and this year over 5,700 applications were received from 55 unions and all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories. Visit UnionPlus.org/Scholarship for applications and benefit eligibility. Meet the 2016 IUOE Honorees IUOE Local 18—Jonathan Clevenger Clevenger, whose mother, Lisa Clevenger, is a member of IUOE Local 18, has been awarded a 0 scholarship. A 2016 college graduate, Jon begins pharmacy school in pursuit of a doctoral degree this fall and hopes to work in a hospital or as a research pharmacist. He earned bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and mathematics from Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio, in May. Jon was a member of the Shawnee State Honors Program and the chemistry club, for which he served as president in 2015, and he was named the 2015 Shawnee State Biochemistry Student of the Year. He was an assistant production chemist at Hadsell Chemical Processing during the summer of 2014, a pharmacy assistant at Relevant Compounding during the summer of 2015, and a sought-after math, chemistry, physics and English tutor at Shawnee State beginning in 2013. Salutatorian of his high school class in 2012, Jon was a member of the National Honor Society and was his school’s Wendy’s High School Heisman winner. He was baseball captain as a high school senior, leading the team to the state title, and he was a four-year Quiz Bowl team member, serving as captain his junior and senior years. Jon’s mother has been an IUOE member since 1984 and his grandfather was a United Steel Workers (USW) member from 1965 until his retirement. “I believe that our country depends on the strength of its citizens and that unions stand up for those citizens’ labor rights,” Jon said. “The benefits that our family has received through union membership have been irreplaceable.” Jon looks forward to supporting the union labor movement by joining a pharmacy union when he embarks on his career. IUOE Local 18—Alexander Comshaw-Arnold Comshaw-Arnold, whose mother, Kathryn Comshaw-Arnold, is a member of IUOE Local 18, has been awarded a 0 scholarship. Alex is an honors mathematics major at The Ohio State University and expects to graduate in May 2019. He plans to pursue graduate degrees in business and law, with the goal of becoming a prosecuting attorney and ultimately a judge. Alex is an Ohio State Stadium Scholar and an Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship Jonathan Clevenger Scholar. A 2015 high school graduate, he finished in the top 10 at state in the 2013 Veterans of Foreign Wars essay contest and won Canton Repository Teen of the Month in January 2015. Alex is an avid powerlifter and placed first at the 2014 push-pull high school state championship. He began enrolling in college courses as a junior through his high school’s post-secondary program. Alex’s grandfather was a member of the United Communications Workers union, and his mother sought union jobs while raising her family but endured substandard working conditions until being able to join IUOE. “She soon discovered that people were there to support her,” said Alex. “She had brothers and sisters in the union who became lifelong friends. And with the union’s help, she was able to let all of my five other brothers and sister go to college.” Devyn Everts IUOE Local 39B—Devyn Everts Everts, whose father, Scott Stutz, is a member of IUOE Local 039B, has been awarded a ,000 scholarship. Devyn is a life sciences major at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She plans to continue her education with a graduate degree in veterinary medicine. Devyn, who works at the Riley Library in Roseville, Calif., is a 2015 high school graduate. A member of the National Honor Society and the California Scholarship Federation, for which she also served as president, she was named Spanish Student of the Year and a California Girls State delegate as a junior. She was cross country team captain and Impact Athletic Honors recipient as a senior. Devyn was a freshman mentor, refereed for local youth-league games, was a teacher assistant at a local elementary school, and was a senior intern in her church youth group. As a working student, Devyn is grateful for the effort of unions to ensure reasonable work days for the American labor force. “My life was one of those impacted and improved by the labor unions,” Devyn said. “Unions fought for a better workplace environment and caused the creation of child labor laws. On school days, these laws limit my work day and allow me time to accomplish all my tasks as a working student.” IUOE Local 147—Taylor Mullins Mullins, whose father, Edgar Mullins, is a member of IUOE Local 147, has been awarded a ,000 scholarship. Taylor is a business major at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, one of the nation’s top liberal arts schools, from which she expects to graduate in May 2018. She has completed a year-long internship at a local insurance company and aspires to eventually open her own insurance firm. Taylor began taking classes at Virginia Highlands Community College while in high school, graduating with honors in 2015 with an advanced diploma. She was cheerleading captain, volunteered with local Remote Area Medical (RAM) events, and participated in her church’s back-to-school food drive. Taylor said her family experienced the value of union membership in 2012 when her father, who worked in the coal industry for two decades, was laid off and found a new job through the local IUOE. “It is because of the opportunities the union has provided us that I am able to look to my future and know that it will be great,” Taylor said. “Through my father, I have witnessed how the union positively affects employees’ lives every day.” IUOE Local 150—Rion Schulz Schulz, whose father, Alexander Schulz, is a member of IUOE Local 150, has been awarded a 0 scholarship. Rion is a 2016 high school graduate who plans to major in mechanical engineering at Illinois Valley Community College as a precursor to pursuing bachelor’s and master’s degrees. His goal is to work in machine design and hydraulic system manufacturing. Rion was a National Honor Society member, Illinois State Scholar, and Illinois Premier Boy’s State participant. He was active in band, Scholastic Bowl, and drama, where he served as section head for lighting, and he fosters dogs through the Humane Society. Rion worked several jobs throughout high school and plans to continue working through college, using that money to defray education costs. His father joined IUOE seven months after Rion’s birth in 1998. “I grew up in a proud union family and learned about the organization and purpose of unions,” said Rion, whose family was aided by IUOE when his father went through a period of unemployment. “The union was always there to support us in times of need.” 20 INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER SUMMER 2016 21
