As a testament to the hardworking ethic instilled in the children of UWUA members, a big congratulations goes out to the students and their families who were selected for the following scholarships. Kelsey Allen and Alan Ratermann are this year’s UWUA National Merit Scholarship Program Winners.

UWUA Scholarship
Program Winners Kelsey Allen from Moundsville, West Virginia, is a freshman at her home state’s Marshall University. Her father, Jeffrey L. Allen, is a mechanical welder and a UWUA member for 23 years. “I’m going to study communication disorders science and major in speech pathology,” says Allen. “I really enjoy working with kids and plan to be a speech teacher at an elementary school.”

Alan Ratermann from St. Louis, Missouri, has begun his freshman year at Rockhurst University in Kansas City. “My father, Alan, is a lead person for a water main crew with Local 335,” says Ratermann.

Busy in high school with “cross country track, the Student Council, and very involved in Scouts as well,” Ratermann is exploring his options in his first year. “I’m just taking the basics right now, still undecided.” Union Plus Winner Steven Sachs of Greensburg, PA, is the proud recipient of a Union Plus Scholarship this year. Sachs, who is a member of UWUA Local 164, has begun his freshman year at the University of Pittsburgh, PA, where he’s going for a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering. His father, Gerald, is also a member of Local 164.

Union Plus Winner
Steven sees his education and career choice of civil engineering as an extension of their shared work in the utility industry. “My father’s career as a utility worker, along with my own internship as a utility worker at the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland, has increased my interest in the civil engineering associated fields of water and sewer line installation, facility construction, and the restoration and construction of highways.” Through the UWUA, he has also participated in numerous community service outreach programs, a tradition he plans to continue.

For information on how to apply for the UWUA Scholarship, visit www.uwua.net or call 202-974-8200. Applications are being accepted now through Dec. 31, 2011, from high school students who will be graduating in spring 2013, and starting college that fall. For information on the Union Plus Scholarship, visit www.UnionPlus.org/Education.

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