Sep 07, 2023 / News

Fostering a Love of Learning—One Utah First Scholarship at a Time

When it comes to helping students, Utah First Credit Union believes in learning by heart. That is, the more love you give to local students, the more they’ll love learning. That’s why we’re investing in the next generation of Utahns by helping students pursue their professional dreams with a little extra cash for college.

Cash for College Scholarship

Every quarter, we award 25 scholarships (in the amount of $1,000 each) to members of the Utah First community currently attending college, trade school, or vocational school. We recently announced the most recent round of recipients and we’re already gearing up to award 25 more scholarships in October.

Recipients of the Summer 2023 scholarships included students from the University of Utah, Utah Valley University, Weber State University, Southern Utah University, Utah State University, Salt Lake Community College, Brigham Young University, Mountainland Technical College, Brigham Young University Idaho, as well as more non-traditional institutions like Lumos Language School and Udemy. Their areas of study range from law, computer science, and radiology, to automotive engineering and culinary arts.

In addition to showing the sheer reach and scope of the Utah First family, this group of enterprising students represents the rising generation of Utahns—their diversity of ideas, different educational paths, and the potential they have to achieve greatness. It’s inspiring to think of the future they are building together–and now they’re doing it with a little less financial stress.

We Love Our Students

While college can be an amazing time of life—a time to learn, grow, and take steps to make a real difference in the community—it can also be a stressful time of life. Worrying about money is an unfortunate reality for most students. In fact, according to a study done at Ohio State University, as much as 70 percent of students stress about finances.

This financial stress might seem like a normal, even expected part of postsecondary education, but financial stress often reaches the point where it prevents students from completing their degrees. This stress, coupled with the recent increase in college tuition in Utah by an average of 3.41% (with the University of Utah increasing tuition by nearly 5% in 2022), our students could use a little extra financial help.

As a Utah-first financial institution, we have a vested interest in our local community—students included. It’s up to us to help the rising generation build the Utah of tomorrow. One of the ways we can do this is by giving students the resources they need to succeed. We can help them to build a better Utah, with people who are committed to “paying it forward” for generations to come.

Declare Your Eligibility

So, if you’re a student (or know a student who could use a little extra financial help), it’s time to declare your eligibility for the next quarter of scholarship awards. If you’ve already declared, you’re already eligible. If not, this will be the easiest scholarship application you’ll ever complete.

Just visit UtahFirst.com/Scholarship to complete a quick form. We just need your name, your email address, and a declaration from you that you’re a member of Utah First and still a student. That’s it. It’ll take 2 minutes of your time that could be worth a $1,000 scholarship!

We love our local students. The best part: the more we love them, the more they’ll love learning. We truly believe in making Utah better by investing in the rising generation of leaders—one scholarship at a time. Visit our scholarship page to learn more about the Utah First Cash for College Scholarship program.