Ascendium employees volunteer for the Money Smart Scholarship Contest

For the fifth consecutive year, Ascendium employees volunteered to read and score high school student essays for the Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt’s Money Smart Scholarship Contest. Twenty-five employees, led by Beth Erickson, Vice President of Repayment Solutions, and Debbie Murphy, a Regional Sales Director for Attigo, gathered virtually and in person to review approximately 15-20 essays apiece.

One of those employees, Scott, a Departmental Assistant on the Claims Examination team, saw the experience as an opportunity to give back. “Having recently had my twin sons apply for and receive Ascendium’s own scholarship, I thought using some VTO [volunteer time off] to assist with this scholarship process was a good way to pay it forward,” he said.

Contest participants had to be high school seniors who live and plan to attend college in Wisconsin. For their essay, they answered five questions about how they intend to finance their college education, with the purpose of helping them consider different avenues for cost savings and debt management.

Before reviewing the essays, volunteers watched a video Stacy, Supervisor of Training on the Repayment Solutions team, created to explain the scoring matrix. They then dove in, awarding points based on the matrix. “You can see the effort that goes into each entry and the excitement of the high school seniors as they plan for their futures,” Debbie said. “It makes reading the essays all the more rewarding.”

Debbie has been involved with the Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt, a nonprofit whose mission is to “facilitate a positive, borrower-centered higher education financing experience,” for about six years. She attends quarterly meetings, provides industry updates, and helps with special projects. “The mission of the Coalition fits right in with my job responsibilities,” she said. “Student debt is a critical issue, and I felt I could help in bringing others to the table who would propose solutions and champion the cause.”

The Coalition’s mission also aligns with Ascendium’s belief that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the transformative power of postsecondary education. It’s one of the reasons Ascendium offers this volunteer opportunity to employees each year.

The hard work of both students and volunteers culminated April 9 when the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions announced the scholarship recipients. The students with the top 15 scores received a $1,000 contribution to an Edvest 529 account, making their postsecondary journey a little more affordable.