Educational Scholarships
What makes you a Difference Maker in your community?
Just like you, CommonWealth takes pride in making a difference in our community through volunteerism and in our members' lives. A Difference Maker is a person who strives to make a positive difference in the lives of others and/or the community, whether through volunteerism or lending a hand to a loved one or neighbor.
To support the dreams of young Difference Makers in the community, we are proud to open our $1,000 Educational Scholarship Application! The applications for the 2023-2024 school year will open in August 2024.
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- CommonWealth member; OR have a parent or guardian who is a member; OR you are a student attending a partner school
- Graduating High School Senior
- Plans to attend an accredited university, community, vocational, or technical college
- A Difference Maker
Also, we are passionate about the financial well-being of students in our community. All applicants are required to complete 3 short WealthMatters — financial education modules:
There are 2 ways to apply:
- Complete the essay application
- Or create a video (maximum 3 minutes) — Video submission guidelines can be found below.
Things to Consider:
Think about using these questions as a framework for your application responses.
- What makes you unique?
- What experiences have shaped your life and perspectives?
- What challenges have you overcome?
- What challenges do you see in your community, and how have you helped address these challenges?
- Video Submission Guidelines
Thank you for your interest in applying for the CommonWealth Central Credit Union Educational Scholarship! This year, we're offering applicants the option to submit a video instead of essays. The video must be at a maximum of 3 minutes long and address, at the very least, each essay prompt. Feel free to share anything and everything about your story! Be creative.
Address all of the following prompts:
- What are your goals for the future?
- What drives you to give back to the community?
- Tell us about a significant community activity you are most passionate about.
How to submit your video application:
- Create video
- Complete the general information on the application
- Insert video link in the last question of the application
- Class of 2023 Scholarship Recipients
Congratulations to our Class of 2023 Educational Scholarship recipients and good luck on pursuing your future goals!
- Arturo Ordaz-Gutierrez
- Gabriela Mata
- Ivy Arellano
- Joshua Asada
- Kaitlyn Silva
- Marissa Ortiz
- Paul Crocker
- Timothy Quan
- Zoe Zepeda
- Zoie Camino
- Partner Schools
If you attend one of the following partner schools, you can speak to your counselors to learn more information about our program.
- Gilroy High School
- Christopher High School
- Live Oak High School
- Central High School
- Ann Sobrato High School
- Oak Grove High School
- Santa Teresa High School
- Branham High School
- Leigh High School
- CommonCents
Welcome to CommonCents – CommonWealth’s free web-based Financial education program. CommonCents uses video, animations, and 3D gaming to bring financial concepts to life for today’s digital generation. As you plan to continue your education, CommonCents can be there to help answer any finacial questions you might have along the way.
CommonCents covers:
- Financing high education
- Shopping smart
- Credit and borrowing
- And much more
