Adirondack Trust Scholarships Change Lives

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Three locals are among eight of the 2016 recipients of the Empire State College Foundation Adirondack Trust Company Scholarship. Established by The Adirondack Trust Company, this scholarship provides need-based aid to undergraduate or graduate students who reside in Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Montgomery, Saratoga, Washington, Fulton, Schoharie, Greene or Columbia counties. “Like so many students who have come before them, this year’s Adirondack Trust Company Scholarship recipients inspire all of us at the bank by their hard work and determination to complete their SUNY Empire State College degree,” said Adirondack Trust Company Executive Vice President Charles V. Wait, Jr., a member of the Empire State College Foundation Board of Directors. “Supporting neighbors seeking to better themselves, their families and the communities where we all live and work is a privilege and a pleasure for all of us at the Adirondack Trust Company. On behalf of the Bank, I offer best wishes for continued success as the students advance their education and complete their college degrees.” Aerielle Jasper of Corinth works as a teaching assistant at Corinth Elementary School and as a respite worker and skill builder for emotionally disturbed children. Jasper’s goal is to become an elementary school teacher after completing a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development, with a concentration in early childhood education. “I absolutely love working with children and can’t wait to further my education so I am able to help them even more,” said Jasper. Her husband, Kevin, a U.S. Army veteran, is medically retired due to a traumatic brain injury he suffered during his service. The couple have an 8-year-old daughter, Chloe. Jasper said that it was hard to complete as much school as she had wanted during the two years Kevin transitioned between hospitals. In her letter of appreciation to the bank, she wrote, “This scholarship will help to lift the burden of paying for books and tuition. It will also help me not to have to work as much and to be able to spend more time with my daughter and husband.” Sarah Smith, a resident of Gansevoort and married mother of two children, ages 8 and 6, works at the Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council as a peer counselor in the women, infants and children department. Smith said she began her college journey many years ago and had to step out many times because of financial constraints. With one year remaining to complete her bachelor’s in Community and Human Services, she became concerned – again for financial reasons – that she would again have to postpone her education. Receiving a scholarship, Smith said, made all the difference between dropping out and graduating in 2017. After graduation, Smith said she plans on advancing her career in working with families in larger and more varied ways, serving her community to the very best of her ability. In her letter of appreciation to the bank, she wrote, “I am writing to let you know how appreciative I am for your scholarship, which will allow me to continue my studies at Empire State College.” Larry Crandall of Glens Falls works as an asset control manager and, after completing a Bachelor of Science in Business, Management and Economics, plans on working for an accounting firm and then opening his own practice. Crandall, the 48-year-old father of a daughter in the second grade, credits his partner in life, who completed a bachelor’s in Business Management and Economics from the college for inspiring him “She is the biggest reason that I chose Empire State College to further my studies.” Having never attended college before, he enrolled at SUNY Empire at the age of 45. “Things have not always been easy, raising and providing for our daughter. But, it is because of companies like yours and people like you, that I have continued and will keep on going toward that goal of continued education,” Crandall wrote in a letter of appreciation to the bank. “I would like to sincerely thank you and the Adirondack Trust Company for the scholarship award,” wrote Crandall. “With this, I will continue my pursuit of finishing my degree. I also hope this will provide an example to our daughter of the importance of the educational experience.” “Thanks to the generosity of The Adirondack Trust Company, so many SUNY Empire State College students have been able to complete their degrees and, in turn, realize their dreams and achieve their personal, professional and academic goals,” said Merodie A. Hancock, president of the college. “The Adirondack Trust scholarship is just one of so many ways the bank supports the community and I am very grateful for the bank’s long-standing and generous support of our students.” The Adirondack Trust Company is an independent, locally owned and operated, community bank offering a wide variety of business and personal financial services. The bank has more than $1 billion in assets and 12 branch offices. Bauer Financial, which has been analyzing and reporting on the financial condition of the nation’s banking industry since 1983, rates the bank as a 5-Star/Superior institution, Bauer’s highest rating. More information about the bank is available at www.AdirondackTrust.com. Empire State College, the nontraditional, open college of the SUNY system, educates nearly 19,000 students worldwide at eight international sites, 34 locations across the state of New York, online, as well as face-to-face and through a blend of both, at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s levels. Most Empire State College students are working adults. Many are raising families and meeting civic commitments in the communities where they live, while studying part-time. More information about the college is available at www.esc.edu.