Blaze Credit Union Foundation Awards $100,000 in Scholarships

Blaze Credit Union has continued its longstanding commitment to support the educational aspirations of students in the communities it serves by awarding $100,000 in scholarships to 40 deserving individuals.

The Blaze Credit Union Foundation Board selected the 2025 scholarship recipients based on academic performance, community involvement, volunteering, school activities, need, and other accomplishments, with consideration for first-generation college students. The applicants were also required to submit an essay answering the question: “Who, or what experience, has had the greatest impact on how you make money decisions? Explain why.”

Ayub Abdi: Edina HS
Isaac Aguilar Romano: Creative Arts Secondary Diamond (Raven) Allen-Lovejoy: Cloquet Senior HS
Ellery Blacker: Owatonna HS
Cowen Cremers: Pillager HS
Cecelia Davis: Como Park Senior HS
Mason Dehn: Princeton HS
Liam Dufner: Princeton HS
Carol Flores: Apollo HS
Stephen Fowler: State College Area HS
Shayan Hasouri: Early College HS
Lisa Her: Hmong College Prep Academy
Zachary Hudella: University of Wisconsin River Falls
Solomon Kardell: Legacy Christian Academy
Norah Kath: Owatonna HS
Katelyn Kinkel: Nashwauk HS
Sarah Landeros-Reyes: Early College HS
Liya Lantyderu: Highland Park Senior HS
Evelyn Lee: St. Catherine University
Yinglai Lee: Stillwater Area Senior HS
Lyndsey McKusick: Liberty University
Grace Mehr: Cathedral HS
Rahma Mohammed: Johnson Senior HS
Brooklyn Orazen: Onamia HS
Chris Palma: Highland Park Senior HS
Lar Say Paw: Highland Park Senior HS
John Polson IV: Bloomington Jefferson HS
Timiya Reese: Texas Southern University
Ericka Reil: University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Arissa Rydberg: Bethel University
Khanlena Sao: Shakopee HS
Erica Schuler: Metropolitan State University
Maggie Sevre: Home Schooled
Tanner Smith: Owatonna HS
Domenick Starr: Milaca Public Schools
Amani Tanner: Park Center HS
Mason Vogel: Shakopee HS
Mai Ger Vue: Concordia University Saint Paul
Lylla Wraa: Princeton HS
Haylee Yang: Harding HS

“The Blaze Credit Union Foundation is proud to provide financial resources to our next generation of leaders. Education is one of the pillars of the Foundation and the scholarship program is part of our ongoing commitment to the communities we serve,” said Christine Cordell, Blaze Credit Union’s Chief Project/Learning Officer, and Chair of the Blaze Credit Union Foundation. “By investing in the success of these students today, we are helping to build stronger communities for everyone in the future.”

The Blaze Foundation Scholarship Program addresses the needs of three major groups:

• Blaze Credit Union High School Branches
• Needs-Based Scholarships
• Blaze Member Scholarships
  • Traditional – A 2025 high school graduate
  • Non-Traditional - A student who is either continuing or returning to higher-education endeavors but is not a 2025 high school graduate

The scholarships were awarded at the end of the school year during each school’s awards ceremony. Blaze Credit Union Foundation Board members or Blaze representatives presented each recipient with a certificate to commemorate their achievement.

To be eligible for a Blaze Scholarship, applicants needed to be a current student at a Minnesota high school (graduating in 2025), or a student who is either continuing or returning to higher education endeavors. All applicants must be enrolled, accepted, or planning to attend a post-secondary, accredited school during the 2025-2026 school year.

Since its inception in 2017, the Blaze Credit Union Foundation has donated over $260,000 in scholarships to those in the community wishing to continue their education.