Public Employee Press

Union scholarships
Path to a dream

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

The union proudly celebrated and rewarded the academic achievement of members’ children Sept. 13 at the DC 37 Education Committee’s Scholarship Awards Luncheon. The committee awarded college scholarships to 19 deserving students from union families and DC 37 locals presented 17 college awards at the annual event, which was held at Antun’s of Queens Village.

“We are very proud of you for working so hard to achieve your dreams of higher education,” Committee Chair and Local 1219 President Shirley A. Williams told the students before a roomful of proud parents.

Williams joined Maf Misbah Uddin, treasurer of DC 37 and president of Local 1407, DC 37 Education Fund Administrator Barbara Kairson, Associate Administrator Viviana Tillman and many local leaders in honoring the scholarship winners.

Uddin thanked the committee for “doing more for those who have less” and praised the students for their hard work in school. (For a list of the scholarship winners, see “Honor Roll.”)

Scholarship winner Bobby Thomas is a pre-med student at Queens College. “I want to be a physician and serve the underprivileged,” said Thomas. His mother, Gracey, an Elmhurst Hospital worker in Local 420, is proud that he is on the way to becoming a doctor. She remembers working at a private hospital on Long Island. “I couldn’t even take a day off for an emergency, because they would give me a hard time,” she said.

The union scholarship helped Gisel Luna become the first person in her family to attend college. “Making ends meet is difficult,” said Luna, who is attending Baruch College and whose mother is a member of Local 372. “The scholarship will ensure that I graduate without an overwhelming debt.”