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First Tech Routing #321180379
About Us

Scholarships

Our scholarship cycle runs December through February each year. Please see our schedule below for the specific dates.

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Since 2008, we’ve supported our members in achieving their dreams of higher education through our scholarship program. Each year, we're proud to award twelve outstanding members with $5,000 scholarships: five to students with a STEM-focused major, five to students with other areas of studies, and two awards to family members of First Tech employees.

The 2023 First Tech scholarship season has closed and recipients will be notified in April. Check back in December for more information about the 2024 scholarship application timeline.

2023 First Tech Scholarship Applications
 Application Open Date  December 15, 2022
 Application Close Date

 February 22, 2023
 at 11:59pm PST 

 Recipients Will Be Notified  April 2023

Applicant criteria:

  • Be a First Tech member in good standing
  • Plan to enroll or already be enrolled as a full-time student at an accredited institution for the fall 2023 quarter/semester
  • Have a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average

Please see our FAQ to answer questions you may have, or please contact Community Engagement.

Scholarship Recipients 2022

We are privileged to continue our tradition of awarding scholarships to members across the country who have showcased their determination, high academic achievement, and involvement in their communities. This year, we awarded $60,000 to the following 12 students, and we wish them the very best in their future careers.

Kyle Zhang

KZhang HeadshotKZhang Headshot University of Pennsylvania
Computer Science

“My name is Kyle Zhang, a senior at Lake Oswego High School. I am going to attend UPenn for the Management & Technology program. I am passionate about technology and its power to make the world a better place. Thanks very much for the scholarship. It is an honor and encouragement from the community. It will help me offset part of my college expenses and allow me to focus more on my study and research. Appreciate it.”

Hunter Ogg

HOgg HeadshotHOgg Headshot Colorado State University
Biochemistry and Data Science

“Five thousand dollars ensures I can take an extra year and obtain a double major in Biochemistry and Data Science instead of attempting to finish my undergraduate education in three years. It ensures I can pursue a PhD in Computation Biology without worrying about financial pressures and can spend my undergraduate career helping to increase access to science by hosting demonstrations to local schools and meetings for other undergraduates instead of working a second job. I hope to one day be able to pass on what I have been given, just as you have passed your gifts on to me.”

Gillian Lasher

Lasher headshotLasher headshot Colorado College
Environmental Studies

“I am so grateful for this award—it makes the difference in having to take out loans next year. It gives me the financial aid I need to continue pursuing my dreams of environmental nonprofit work and attending law school in the future.”

Rhand Wood

RWood HeadshotRWood Headshot Oregon State University
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

“I cannot say thank you enough to First Tech Credit Union for the blessing that this award will be in the coming year. It is really encouraging to know that there are other people that trust and believe in my ability to make a difference. It will truly help with affording the expensive costs of higher education and it will allow me to pursue my studies with greater passion.”

Chelsea Chan

Chan headshotChan headshot University of California Los Angeles
Biological Sciences

“I am super grateful for the honor of receiving this award. This scholarship will help fund my academic pursuits at UCLA and set me on the path to achieve my dream of becoming a physician.”

Jaiyoun Choi

JChoi HeadshotJChoi Headshot Emory University
Psychology

“To me, this scholarship is a new degree of freedom. With this funding, I can now freely pursue different research experiences to deepen my college education in psychology and support my long-term aspirations of becoming a psychiatrist.”

Kristen Gillan

KGillan HeadshotKGillan Headshot Florida Institute of Technology
Doctor of Business Administration

“By awarding me the First Tech Federal Credit Union Scholarship, I can continue pursuing my Doctor of Business Administration degree with less financial stress.  Your generous scholarship allows me to focus on my studies so that I may help other women succeed in business in the future.  I appreciate your support in my academic career.”

Gissely Rodriguez

GRodriguez HeadshotGRodriguez Headshot Western Colorado University
Clinical Psychology and Counseling School Psychology

“I have been preparing for college since the third grade, and I knew that it would take a lot of hard work to get into a good school, let alone afford it. I am paying my own way through school, which has been difficult at times, but this scholarship has made things a good deal easier and I am extremely grateful! This generous offer will allow me to continue pursuing my wish to become a therapist and help the people around me.”

Tinuade Adebolu

TAdebolu HeadshotTAdebolu Headshot New York University
Business

“I want to say thank you to First Tech for awarding this scholarship to me.  As a working mom and student, my finances are stretched to the limit and this scholarship helps to alleviate some of the stress.  I look forward to returning to Africa in the future to help reignite one of the major industries in Nigeria. I believe by helping to reignite one of the major industries it will create wealth that will have a pronounced impact on other areas, most especially healthcare and the education sector.”

Caitlynn Jolley

Jolley headshotJolley headshot Chemeketa Community College
Early Childhood Education

“This award means so much to me. This award allows me to continue my education to become a teacher to early elementary school children. Thank you so much for this opportunity!”

Aishwarya Marathe

Marathe headshotMarathe headshot Portland State University
French, Creative Writing and World Language Pedagogy

“This scholarship is a meaningful affirmation of my academic and creative efforts, and a source of motivation as I progress in my studies of French, Creative Writing, and pedagogy. Above all, it is the First Tech community's encouragement to always uphold my passion for learning. I am incredibly grateful to First Tech for their generosity and support.” 

Ashley Tan

Tan HeadshotTan Headshot Harvey Mudd College
Chemistry and Biology

“This award will really help me further my studies in Biology and Chemistry. I look forward to being able to give back to my community through pharmaceutical research in the future.”