California Collectors Announce Annual Scholarship Winners

The California Association of Collectors Educational Scholarship Foundation (CACESF) held its sixth annual scholarship banquet on April 12, 2011, at The Hyatt Regency Hotel in Sacramento where three high school seniors were awarded scholarships to their college of choice.

In 2005, the California Association of Collectors, Inc. (CAC) founded the Educational Scholarship Foundation which annually awards academic scholarships to three California high school seniors who write an essay on The Importance of Establishing and Maintaining Good Credit During Your College Years. Since its inception, CACESF has awarded $36,000 to California high school seniors. This year, CAC received over 770 essays from high school seniors throughout the state.

The three finalists were selected by a group of volunteers who read each essay that was submitted. Each finalist was invited to Sacramento along with a parent to read their essay in front of CAC members, a group of distinguished judges, including Tom Stockton from ACA International, Suzanne Martindale from the Consumers’ Union, and California Senator Joel Anderson, to determine first, second and third place ranking.

Maggie Montague from Fallbrook High School in Fallbrook was awarded first place and a $2,500 scholarship. Maggie is involved in the Girl’s Varsity Basketball program, and maintains an 4.4 GPA. She is also an active member and volunteer in the Fallbrook Presbyterian Church’s youth program as well as other church ministries. Maggie wishes to pursue her love of writing and reading. She plans to attend Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, in the fall of 2011 as an English major.  Her dream career would be to become a self-sufficient author. She has finished her first manuscript and is the currently pursuing other stories.

Amy Gabriel from Yreka High School in Yreka was awarded second place and a $2,000 scholarship. Amy has received a variety of academic and athletic awards, including Rotary Student of the Month, and Scholar Athlete for the Varsity Tennis Team. Her current GPA has ranked her second in her graduating class. She has been accepted to attend U.C. Davis and plans to major in English. Her career goals include journalism, and ultimately free-lance writing. Amy enjoys volunteering for her local YMCA Teen Leadership Committee of which she is currently president. Amy has an array of interests which include ballet and floral design.

August Wissmath from C.K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento was awarded third place and a $1,500 scholarship. August is debating on whether to accept an offer from UC Berkeley, or Reed College in Portland, Oregon. In addition to self-educating through Dostoevsky, Kesey, Orwell, and Updike, he keeps his mind sharp and builds his awareness of global news and policies through his years on McClatchy’s Policy Debate Team. After completing a Bachelor’s in Anthropology, August hopes to join the Peace Corp, and later attend graduate school.

Kris Davisson, Amy Gabriel, Mel Shaw, August Wissman, and Maggie Montegue

The CACESF was started to help California high school graduates pursue their education at any accredited public or private college, university or trade school and to emphasize to high school seniors the importance of good credit management. For the latest announcements for the 2011-2012 scholarships, or for more information about CACESF, please visit CACESF’s website, www.cacesf.org.

CAC is a non-profit association that represents over 300 third-party collection agencies throughout the state of California. CAC’s mission is to promote, stimulate, increase and improve the educational, social, economic and ethical welfare of the California collection industry and the public it serves. For more information go to www.calcollectors.net or call CAC at (916) 929-2125.