The Scholarship Committee will be responsible to: update the general rules and instructions for the CEMA scholarship program, with Executive Board approval; updating all standardized correspondence, including applications; announcing and inviting applications from the CEMA membership; soliciting CEMA members to evaluate the applications; follow a transparent evaluation and selection process; report results of the evaluation process to the executive board for approval and announce the winners to the CEMA membership; and ensure that checks are prepared and mailed.

WHO MAY APPLY

Children (including stepchildren and foster children) of County Employees Management Association (CEMA) dues-paying members may apply for the scholarships.  The parent of the applicant must be a member of CEMA in good standing for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the date of the application. Grandchildren are only eligible to apply if their grandparent (member) is their legal guardian.  Children of deceased members are eligible to apply for the scholarships if the parent of the applicant was a member for at least one year immediately preceding the date of death.

WHERE TO GET APPLICATIONS

CEMA Scholarship applications are available online at www.sccema.org or you can e-mail [email protected] to request.

HOW TO SUBMIT SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS

It is the responsibility of the applicant to see that the application is completed in full and that all the required items are received on time.  Only fully completed application packets submitted on time will be verified and considered.  CEMA Scholarship applications must be submitted via e-mail to [email protected].  Complete applications are due no later than 4:00 PM, May 5, 2023. If you have any questions, please e-mail [email protected].

ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS

Up to thirteen (13) academic scholarships of $1,000-$5,000.00 each will be awarded. These scholarships can only be used for study at an accredited college, university, or technical school.  If there are no qualified applicants in one category, the scholarship may be awarded to qualified candidates in other categories.  

  1. Up to Five (5) scholarships awarded to graduating high school students who have, or will be, graduated by June 2023.  The student must plan to attend an accredited college, university, or technical school during the academic year (August 2023 – June 2024) and be able to meet the academic requirements for entrance into the college, university, or technical school of their choice.  Students selected for an academic scholarship must have achieved no less than a 3.0 (“B”) weighted grade point average in their high school work.  An applicant may only be awarded this academic scholarship one time.
    1. First Place: $3,000. One scholarship in memory of Richard Rapacchietta will be awarded to the first-placed applicant.
    2. Second Place: $1,500. One scholarship will be awarded to the second-placed applicant.  
    3. Up to three (3) additional $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to the third, fourth, and fifth-placed applicants.
  2. Up to Five (5) scholarships awarded to undergraduate college students continuing their college education.  The student must plan to attend an accredited college, university, or technical school during the academic year (August 2023 – June 2024). Students selected for an academic scholarship must have achieved not less than a 3.0 (“B”) weighted grade point average in their college work. An applicant may only be awarded this academic scholarship one time.
    1. First Place: $5,000. One scholarship in memory of Richard Rapacchietta will be awarded to the first-placed applicant. 
    2. Second Place: $2,500. One scholarship will be awarded to the second-placed applicant. 
    3. Up to three (3) additional $1,500 scholarships will be awarded to the third, fourth, and fifth-placed applicants.
  3. One (1) $2,500 scholarship (Keith Garvey Memorial) awarded to a post-college graduate student continuing their education and whose educational goal is in public service at $2,500. An applicant may only be awarded this scholarship one time.
  4. Two (2) $2,500 scholarships (in honor of our 2022 CEMA Champions) awarded to undergraduate or post-college graduate students continuing their education and whose educational goal is in public service at $2,500. An applicant may only be awarded this scholarship one time.

AWARDING ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS

Upon receipt of the application package, the membership of the parent will be verified.  Then the application package will be reviewed to confirm it is complete.  Only completed applications will be submitted to the CEMA Scholarship Committee for judging.  The CEMA Scholarship Committee will submit its recommendations to the CEMA Executive Board on May 26, 2023. The CEMA Executive Board will confirm and approve scholarship disbursements. The Academic Scholarship winners will be notified by CEMA and posted on www.sccema.org.  Winners will be asked to provide a photograph that will be used to announce winners through CEMA Voice e-mails and www.sccema.org.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS

The following items must be submitted together by the applicant (unless it is the policy of the school to submit the official transcript or references directly)

  1. APPLICATION – Filled out by the student.
  2. OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT – From school, signed or stamped.
  3. ONE LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION
  4. PERSONAL STATEMENT – Written by the student.
  5. COMPLETED ESSAY QUESTION(S) – Written by the student.  Please complete the Essay Question(s) based on the type of scholarship(s) for which you are applying.
    1. High School/Undergraduate – Why do you feel unions are good for America and how do unions affect your life?
    2. Keith Garvey-Post Graduate – What are your educational goals, and why are you pursuing a career in public service?
    3. CEMA Champion Award Recipient – In your opinion, what is the greatest challenge your generation will face?  What are your ideas for solving this challenge?

MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS

In addition to the Academic Scholarships, CEMA will award up to five (5) Merit Scholarships in the amount of $500 each.  Children (including stepchildren and foster children) of CEMA due paying members who are currently attending or planning to attend a certified college, university, or technical school will be eligible for the merit scholarships.  The parent of the applicant must be a member of CEMA in good standing for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the date of the application. Grandchildren are only eligible to apply if their grandparent (member) is their legal guardian.  Children of deceased members are eligible to apply for the scholarships if the parent of the applicant was a member for at least one year immediately preceding the date of death.

AWARDING MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS

Apart from verifying the eligibility of the applicant, the CEMA Scholarship Committee will not exercise any choice among the various applicants.  All applicants who were not awarded one of the academic scholarships listed above will be eligible for a Merit Scholarship. The Merit Scholarship winners will not be judged on academic qualifications but will instead be selected through a raffle drawing held at the CEMA Executive Board Meeting on May 26, 2022.  Applicants need not be present to win.  Winners will be notified by CEMA and posted on www.sccema.org.