Scholarship Awards Celebration a Huge Success!

Thursday, July 21st 2022, the Utility Contractors Association of Connecticut (UCAC) Scholarship Awards Dinner was held at the Glastonbury Boathouse. Friends and families of scholarship recipients gathered along with over 100 UCAC members and guests to celebrate the success of our 14 winners. UCAC President David Duff of Suburban Sanitation Service in Canton had the honor of awarding over $16,000 in scholarships along with certificates and proclamations from Governor Ned Lamont.

UCAC has a long history of supporting children of UCAC members planning to attend college. This year saw a major expansion of the scholarship program to include high school seniors of Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS) schools. UCAC offered students in many CTECS programs at schools across the state including Automotive Collision, Repair & Refinishing; Automotive Technology; Carpentry; Diesel & Heavy Equipment Repair; Electrical; Masonry; Plumbing & Heating; HVAC; Mechanical Design & Engineering Technology; Mechatronics; Precision Machining Technology; Sustainable Architecture and Welding & Metal Fabrication.

All interested students applied in April 2022 and were evaluated by members of the UCAC Scholarship Committee based on academic progress, community involvement and excellence in their chosen concentrations.

The UCAC Member Scholarship Recipients for 2022 are: Alyssa Abbe (Able Tool & Equipment/Quaboag Regional High School), Jack Garrity (Garrity Asphalt/Simsbury High School), Jillian Marcotte (W.I. Clark/Woodstock Academy), and William Tousignant (Garrity Asphalt/Conard High School). The UCAC/CTECS Student Scholarship Recipients for 2022 are: Marissa Ann Laitres-Wakefield (Automotive Collision, Repair & Refinishing/Harvard H. Ellis Technical High School), Aiden Hoyt (Automotive Technology/Vinal Technical High School), Paola Alexandra Luna Castro (Carpentry/Platt Technical High School), Imraan Mohammed Feroz (Electrical/W.F. Kaynor Technical High School), Tiffany Marchand (Electrical/Eli Whitney Technical High School), Patrick James Seiler (Electrical/Henry Abbott Technical High School), Jeileanys Ojeda (Mechanical Design & Engineering Technology/W.F. Kaynor Technical High School), Gavin Bryant Carter (Plumbing & Heating/E.C.Goodwin Technical High School), John Borgersen (Precision Machining Technology/Platt Technical High School), and Amiyah Campbell (Sustainable Architecture/Bullard-Havens Technical High School). All UCAC scholarship recipients receive cash awards that can be used toward college or to purchase equipment and tools, transportation and/or to gain additional training needed to enter the workforce. Trade school students are especially important to reach because they’re often overlooked by scholarship programs and are so close to the Utility Contracting Industry. Additionally, workers with technical training are vital to every community.

We are looking forward to 2023 and an even larger class of scholarship winners!