Scholarships offer serenity and strength to students

The CIS department offers three scholarships to students, and attaining one has been made easier with the school's general scholarship process. Find out which eight students received scholarships for the fall 2016/spring 2017 semesters and how to apply for the fall 2018/spring 2019 scholarship opportunities.

Without scholarship money, Rylee Green would have had to take out another student loan to cover the cost of her classes this year. Shashank Rajani used his scholarship money to cover his higher out-of-state tuition. Kyle Ritter’s scholarship money went toward textbooks for two semesters. The CIS department offers three scholarships to students.

The Society of Information Management Scholarship (SIM), which awards $2,000 each to three students. The Richard Malone CIS Scholarship provides $1,000 each to four students. And the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) Phoenix Scholarship awards $875 to one student getting a scholarship is attainable and made even easier by the W. P. Carey School of Business general scholarship process. Students can apply once, and their application is submitted and considered for many different monetary awards. “W. P. Carey tries to make it easier for students to apply for scholarships through the school and academic departments,” says Angelina Saric, associate director of the Department of Information Systems. The three CIS awards have similar criteria, Saric explains, making it easier to consider students for all of them.

Society of Information Management Scholarship recipients

Green, who is graduating in August, is a recipient of the SIM scholarship. With the help of student loans, she’s paid her way through college. The scholarship was a relief, she says. “As a student who is paying for their tuition, scholarships help me immensely not to have to take out as many loans." Green already has a job lined up after graduation; she’ll be a software developer at General Motors in Chandler. Rajani, a sophomore studying computer information systems (CIS) and business data analytics, has dreams of working at one of the Big Four auditing firms — Deloitte, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young — and someday starting his company. “I want to gain experiences in many different industries and develop a skill set that helps me solve problems,” he says. “I believe I'll get insight into problems that need fixing through this college experience.”

Receiving the SIM scholarship took some of the financial burdens off Rajani and his parents’ shoulders, he says. “College can be expensive, and every bit counts. I am very grateful to the Society of Information Management and their contribution to my continuing education.” Sophomore Michael Mayper was the third recipient of the SIM scholarship this year.

Recipients of the Richard Malone CIS Scholarship

The Richard Malone CIS Scholarship is supported by Edward D. Jones & Co. and awards seven students $1,000 each. The award is in honor of retired Edward Jones’ CIO, Rich Malone. Malone was passionate about teaching the basics of business to technology students. In an interview in KnowIT several years ago, Malone said businesses and universities need to work together to determine how to prepare a new generation of leaders for rapidly converging disciplines.

The scholarship is the longest running of the three CIS awards. It is the second year Christine Abrazaldo has received the Richard Malone CIS Scholarship. Paying for college can be stressful, and the scholarship money helped lift some of that burden, she says. “This scholarship has helped me not only financially but mentally. It helped me have less anxiety over money and allowed me to focus more on the bigger picture: getting my degree and a good job.” Abrazaldo will be graduating in May and will go to work in the IT advisory service line at Ernst & Young. She says she did her best to work hard and make the scholarship donor proud, and someday she hopes to be able to give back to students in need. Ritter, a junior studying CIS and supply chain management, also received the Richard Malone CIS Scholarship. He used the award to buy textbooks for two semesters. Ritter has been solely funding his education and says receiving the scholarship money was a huge weight lifted. “These funds helped me feel more comfortable by taking care of a huge part of my yearly expenses." Kyle Ritter also has a desire to give back. He says his mother was a big influence in his life and always went out of her way to help others. “This had a profound effect on me, as I cannot even dream of a better life than waking up every morning knowing you are helping people and making a difference in the lives of others,” he says.

Melvin Montenegro and Nghi Tran, both recipients of the scholarship, say the award helped them focus on their studies and relieve some financial stress. Both will graduate this year, and both will head to California to work for major IT companies. Montenegro, who is getting concurrent degrees in CIS and finance, will go to Google as a technical analyst in Sunnyvale, Calif. Tran, a CIS and accountancy double major, will work on the advisory staff of Ernst & Young in San Jose. Sophomore Matthew Anderson is another Richard Malone Scholarship winner. He says he felt honored to receive the scholarship and plans on becoming a business intelligence analyst when he graduates. Daniel Arcaro and Emily Ronningen, both juniors, also won the award.

Sole Winner of the ISACA Phoenix Scholarship

Senior Michealla Lindsey won the ISACA Phoenix Scholarship, which is sponsored by the Phoenix chapter of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association sponsors the scholarship.

Apply for the next scholarship opportunity

Visit the Scholarship Opportunites page on the W. P. Carey School of Business website to learn more about the general scholarship application. Additional award opportunities and tips on framing your scholarship essay question responses can be found on the Scholarships & Resources page. The next opportunity to submit the general scholarship application is November 2017, with any fund awards going toward the fall 2018/spring 2019 semesters.