The Korellis Annual Scholarship event took place at the Hammond headquarters on Tuesday, June 25. This year marked the sixth event and seventh year of this scholarship tradition. Pete Korellis, Chairman of the Board for Korellis Inc., conducted the presentation for the scholarships.
“This event is in memory of my parents,” Korellis said. “The George & Harriet Korellis Scholarship is about giving back and a giant thank you to the employees here that have given this family an incredible life that we never expected to have. It's because of their hard work and dedication that we can get to where we are now.”
Over the years, the presentation of these scholarships has only continued showing growth.
“We’ve been giving these scholarships out since 2018,” Korellis said. “So far, we’ve hit about a quarter of a million dollars in total.”
This year presented an impressive amount of scholarships once again. Korellis notes that there are nine recipients who are receiving more than $40,000 in total.
For the Korellis family, it’s not only a big deal for them to play a large part in the presentation of these scholarships – it’s also important to cherish the celebration of these dedicated recipients and their close ones.
“I like to consider this group a giant family,” Korellis said. “We try to run it with that idea in place as much as possible. It’s very gratifying to see these employees and other family members here for this celebration.”
One scholarship recipient this year who appreciates this event is Marguerite Ponda. As a multiple-time winner, Ponda feels a strong sense of gratitude for receiving this scholarship for six years in her educational journey.
“It’s an amazing feeling and truly a blessing,” Ponda said. “I’m thankful to have received this scholarship for not just the four years of my undergraduate but even the past two years for my master’s degree. When I knew there was a possibility to earn the scholarship again, I decided to apply for it. I don’t think my master’s experience would have been anywhere near what it is without the support of this scholarship.”
Sharing the celebration with close ones is a great feeling that Ponda has had throughout her years of receiving this scholarship. However, she also cherishes being able to see the other multiple-time winners as well as new recipients each year.
“I recognize a lot of faces from last year so it feels great to celebrate with my peers,” Ponda said. “It’s a special feeling to represent the Korellis family and the scholarship committee while I'm at school, as well as my father who works here.”
Korellis has been pleased with the success of this annual scholarship event. With four of the nine winners this year being first-time recipients, he’s optimistic that more of them will be featured in this event for many years to come.
“Hopefully we get even more participants for the employees' kids and some of the employees themselves,” Korellis said. “We would love to see the event continue to grow.”
The complete list of winners is as follows:
Andrea Salgado (first-time recipient), daughter of Israel Cruz
Autumn Nuccio (first-time recipient), daughter of Barb Nuccio
Kacie Learman (first-time recipient), daughter of Joe Learman
Zakary Green (first-time recipient), Korellis employee
Isabel Esparza (two-time recipient), daughter of Antulio Esparza
Joel Barnes (two-time recipient), Korellis employee
Jacob Mabus (three-time recipient), son of Steve Mabus
Nataly Salas (five-time recipient), daughter of Eddie Salas
Marguerite Ponda (six-time recipient), daughter of Vinnie Ponda
For more information about Korellis, you can visit its website.
