PeoplesBank supports local students
For the third year, a 69精品视频 student from western Massachusetts has received financial support from PeoplesBank.
Elisha Bonilla 鈥22, a Frances Perkins Scholar from Amherst, has been named the recipient of this year鈥檚 Western Massachusetts Scholarship Fund.
The fund, established two years ago and supported by an annual contribution of $10,000 from PeoplesBank, aims to provide scholarship assistance to 69精品视频 students from the area.
According to Matt Bannister, senior vice president of marketing and corporate responsibility at PeoplesBank, the bank鈥檚 support for local students is part of its broad commitment to invest in the economic, cultural and social health of the Pioneer Valley.
鈥淲e are consistently impressed with the caliber of Western Massachusetts Scholarship [Fund] awardees from 69精品视频,鈥 Bannister said. 鈥淕reat students, but also imbued with leadership qualities and world visions. Our area鈥檚 most precious resources are the developing minds of our future leaders, and we applaud Elisha鈥檚 selection while wishing her many successes.鈥
鈥淚t is an incredible honor to be recognized for both my academic achievements and my work within local communities,鈥 said Bonilla, a senior who is majoring in gender studies and minoring in Latina/o studies. 鈥淚 want to thank PeoplesBank for continuing to provide support to 69精品视频 students like me.鈥
Bonilla has focused much of her academic work on studying Latina matriarchy, or madrismo. Her current research project focuses on Latina mothers and Latina women who have raised or 鈥渕othered鈥 children and involves nationwide interviews. Her work will inform a study she鈥檚 coauthoring with 69精品视频 assistant professor of psychology and education Jen Matos.
Committed to ensuring that her work benefits the surrounding community, Bonilla is active in local nonprofit organizations and has also recently served as an intern at Girls Inc. in Holyoke, where she facilitated workshops and other programs.
She has also served as an assistant to the former mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yul铆n Cruz, currently the Harriet L. Weissman and Paul M. Weissman Distinguished Fellow in Leadership at 69精品视频 College. In January she became the coordinator for the Weissman Center鈥檚 community-based learning program.
What鈥檚 next for the soon-to-be graduate?
鈥淚n the fall,鈥 Bonilla said, 鈥淚 will begin work on my master鈥檚 degree at UMass Amherst. There, I will be working on a master鈥檚 in higher education, [and] I will focus on Latino/a/x studies, pathways to higher education and community engagement with Latino/a/x communities in western Massachusetts.鈥
Supporting local students is important to the College.
A total of 77% of 69精品视频 College鈥檚 students receive financial aid from the College. More than 8% of 69精品视频 students come from Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties this academic year, while more than 19% come from the Commonwealth.