The Surety & Fidelity Association of America Foundation Awards 17 Students With $5,000 Scholarships

September 14, 2021 (WASHINGTON, DC) – The Surety & Fidelity Association of America Foundation (SFAA Foundation) announced today the 17 students who have been selected as recipients of a $5,000 scholarship as part of the Surety and Fidelity Intern and Scholarship Program for 2021. The program was created in 2003 to help increase diversity within the surety and fidelity industry by attracting underrepresented students into the field. These students are defined as African American, Native American, Alaskan, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, female, LGBTQ+, veteran or disabled. Each scholarship recipient will receive a $5,000 academic award.

“The 17 scholarship recipients stood out in their level of professionalism as interns and academic accomplishment ,” said Tim Mikolajewski, chair of The Surety & Fidelity Association of America Foundation and president, global surety for Liberty Mutual Surety. “The Foundation’s Board of Trustees is thrilled to award each student with a $5,000 scholarship and we hope that they continue to pursue surety and fidelity as a career option once they have graduated.”

“These 17 students are the future of the surety and fidelity industry and on behalf of SFAA, I would like to congratulate them on their academic and professional achievements,” said Lee Covington, president and CEO of SFAA. “This is the largest number of scholarships awarded in the history of the program and we are grateful to our member companies and individuals whose donations to the SFAA Foundation make this program possible.”

The 2021 Surety and Fidelity Intern and Scholarship Program scholarship recipients are as follows:

• Izan Ahmed, Grinnell College, School of Computer Science – Merchants Bonding Company
• Matthew Belter, University of Colorado Boulder, Leeds School of Business – Travelers Bond and Specialty Insurance
• Sneha Bharadwaj, University of Washington, Michael G. Foster School of Business – Travelers Bond and Specialty Insurance
• Hannah D’Sylva, University of San Diego, School of Business – Liberty Mutual Surety
• Camera Elliott, University of Richmond, Robins School of Business – IAT Insurance Group – Surety
• Christian Jackson, Drake University, College of Business and Public Administration – Merchants Bonding Company
• Sofia Melhor, Temple University, Fox School of Business – Travelers Bond and Specialty Insurance
• Leah Monroe, Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business – Travelers Bond and Specialty Insurance
• Jaylynn Muniz, University of Hartford, Barney School of Business – Travelers Bond and Specialty Insurance
• Lily Neff, University of San Diego, School of Business – Liberty Mutual Surety
• Gracie Ray, Middle Tennessee State University, Jennings A. Jones College of Business – Sompo International
• Richard Sakyi, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Business – Travelers Bond and Specialty Insurance
• Winnie Shin, Boston University, Questrom School of Business – IAT Insurance Group – Surety
• Hanna Spencer, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Collat School of Business – Travelers Bond and Specialty Insurance
• Alberto Stadhagen, St. Mary’s University, Greehey School of Busine ss – Merchants Bonding Company
• Alexa Summers, Temple University, Fox School of Business – The Hartford
• Aleah Vaske, University of Northern Iowa, College of Business – Merchants Bonding Company

For information on the Surety and Fidelity Intern and Scholarship Program, please visit www.surety.org.

The Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) is a trade association of more than 425 insurance companies that write 98 percent of surety and fidelity bonds in the U.S. SFAA is licensed as a rating or advisory organization in all states and it has been designated by state insurance departments as a statistical agent for the reporting of fidelity and surety experience. www.surety.org

Contact: Peter Roth – VP Strategic Communications, Marketing and Research
Phone: (703) 401-0676
E-mail: [email protected]

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