Union Plus Awards
Union Plus Awards 2019 Scholarships to IUOE Member Families Winners honored for academic achievement and union values UNION PLUS RECENTLY awarded 0,000 in scholarships to 108 students representing 34 unions, including four 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 31 states plus the District of Columbia. The Union Plus Scholarship Program, now in its 28th 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 .5 million in educational funding to more than 3,000 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 recognized technical or trade school. The selection process is very competitive, and this year over 7,100 applications were received from 65 unions and all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories. Visit unionplus.org/scholarship for applications and benefit eligibility. Meet the 2019 IUOE Honorees IUOE Local 18—Alexander Comshaw-Arnold Comshaw-Arnold, whose mother, Kathryn Comshaw-Arnold, is a member of IUOE Local 18, has been awarded a ,000 scholarship. Alex, who was a 2016 and 2017 Union Plus Scholarship recipient, is a 2017 honors graduate of The Ohio State University (OSU) with a Bachelor of Science in economics. He plans to begin graduate school this fall and aspires to a career in labor, corporate, or real estate law; government; or some combination thereof. Alex completed his bachelor’s degree in less than three years after completing two years of post-secondary education while at Fairless High School in Navarre, Ohio, from which he graduated valedictorian in 2015. He has worked as a credit and accounts receivable analyst for Nestlé since graduating from OSU, where he was an economics research assistant for Dr. Daeho Kim. Alex said IUOE has played a major role in the life of his mother, who is a second-generation union member. “Starting as a laborer, a mason-tender, and in other basic positions as a non-union worker, my mother faced a lot of discrimination and harassment at work,” Alex said. “IUOE changed her outlook and her expectations of what to expect from her job and her life.” Alexander Comshaw-Arnold Activities and honors (OSU): Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics Honor Society; Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Scholar; Stadium Scholarship Program; Second-Year Transformational Experience Program (STEP); Dean’s List; powerlifting team. IUOE Local 542—Luke Cowart Cowart, whose father, Jon Cowart, is a member of IUOE Local 542, has been awarded a ,000 scholarship. Luke is a 2019 graduate of Unionville High School in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. He plans to begin college this fall and major in biomedical engineering. Luke has a passion for combining the medical field with bioengineering and nanoscience and would like to be a pioneer in the field. He has undergone Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training with the Good Fellowship Ambulance and EMS Training Institute. Luke earned first-team All-America honors from the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) and was featured in Trap & Field magazine. “Having a father in the IUOE allowed me to have a stable, wonderful childhood,” Luke said. “My dad has been able to get the education he needs to continue to be among the best in the field, and I appreciate knowing that my dad will come home safe every day.” Activities and honors: LINK Peer Leadership Award; Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout Volunteerism: : Therapy Dogs International; Creekside Preserve project IUOE Local 14—Sean Nolan Nolan, whose father, Michael Nolan, is a member of IUOE Local 14, has been awarded a ,000 scholarship. Sean is a culinary arts and food service management major at Johnson & Wales University (JWU) in Providence, Rhode Island. He expects to graduate in 2022. This summer and fall, Sean will intern with the Disney Culinary Luke Cowart Program. He is a 2018 cum laude graduate of Northport High School in New York. Sean said he has seen the value of his father’s IUOE membership, in particular when his mother battled breast cancer last year. “She required surgery, extensive rehabilitation and physical therapy, and regular visits to specialists,” Sean said. “Through our IUOE-provided health care coverage, my family only had to pay a fraction of what was accrued in medical bills.” Activities and honors: JWU Presidential Academic Scholarship recipient; IUOE Local 14 William Wade Memorial Scholarship recipient; JWU Club of Culinary Excellence; JWU Mixed Martial Arts Club; Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout, Order of the Arrow; Black Dragon American Kenpo Karate IUOE Local 150—Julia Walli Walli, whose father, Theodore Walli, is a member of IUOE Local 150, has been awarded a ,000 scholarship. Julia is a 2019 graduate of Willowbrook High School (WHS) in Villa Park, Illinois. She will attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and major in animal sciences. Julia hopes to study abroad while at Illinois and plans to attend veterinary school after graduation. She is a kennel technician at DuPage Animal Hospital. Her father’s IUOE membership is not the family’s only union affiliation: Julia’s mother, Jennifer Walli, is a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). WHS professional school counselor Kimberly Mikesell has been impressed by Julia’s tenacity, compassion, and positivity. “Julia has learned how to balance academic rigor and extracurricular activities and has a great self-awareness that allows her to give 100 percent in all that she does,” Mikesell said. “Julia possesses a strong determination and focus on reaching the goals she sets for herself.” Activities and honors: : State Seal of Biliteracy (Spanish); Human Relations Award; National Honor Society; Student Ambassadors; The Dance Centre; founder, Animal Welfare Club Volunteerism: Willowbrook Wildlife Center Sean Nolan Julia Walli 20 INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER SUMMER 2019 21
