The ReMA Paper Stock Industries (PSI) Chapter is awarding $50,000 to 19 students in its annual academic scholarship program, setting records for the total funds awarded and the number of student recipients. This year’s scholarship total includes one $5,000 grand-prize scholarship and 18 $2,500 merit scholarships.
According to Nini Krever, the PSI scholarship chair, what stood out to the judges about the grand prize recipient, Max Krasinski, wasn’t just his stellar grades, extracurricular activities, or letters of recommendation, but what he wrote in his application essays.
“Each year, applicants write two essays,” Krever said. “For one essay, students are asked to explain what they would do if they had the opportunity to work at their parent’s PSI member company for a summer job and why they would select that area.”
This essay gives students a chance to talk to their parents about work in the recycled materials industry and get a better understanding of what recycling is all about.
“The winner described how, as a child, he would visit his father at a WestRock facility, look out the window that overlooked the plant and watch as the players and parts moved in sync, working together to move material,” Krever said. “And how, as he got older, he learned more about how each part worked together, how the streams were sorted, and as a summer intern about to study mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech, consider how to increase capture rates. It was a great essay overall.”
The PSI scholarship program is a merit-based award open to students who are dependents of employees in the recycling divisions of PSI Chapter member companies. Winning students can use the PSI scholarship funds to pay for certificate or degree programs at technical, trade, and vocational schools as well as two-year or four-year post-secondary institutions.
“We chose to give the scholarship to high school seniors because figuring out how to get funding when you start applying for schools can be daunting,” Krever said.
This year’s winners, along with their sponsoring ReMA/PSI Chapter member company/location and the school they will attend, are as follows:
$5,000 Grand-Prize Scholarship Winner
Maximus Krasinski, WestRock (Marietta, Ga.); Georgia Institute of Technology
$2,500 Merit Scholarship Winners
- Matthew Felker, Greif (Columbus, Ohio); The Citadel
- Natalie Hernandez, WestRock (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.); Florida Atlantic University
- Joshua Johnson, Radius Recycling (Atlanta); Kennesaw State University
- Bethany King, Greif (Smyrna, Ga.); Kennesaw State University
- Paige Lowry, International Paper (Memphis, Tenn.); Mississippi State University
- Trinity McKithen, WestRock (Atlanta); Florida A&M University
- Dylan Mordasiewicz, Waste Management (Lombard, Ill.); Purdue University
- Samantha Niewiarowski, The Wilmington Group (Parsippany, N.J.); Kean University
- Halle Nordt, Waste Management (Houston); Hardin-Simmons University
- Rose Snodgrass, International Paper (Bloomington, Minn.); University of Wisconsin-Platteville
- Joshua Starrett, Jr., International Paper (Memphis, Tenn.); Lipscomb University
- Karan Toor, International Paper (Itasca, Ill.); University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Emily Uriostegui, Greif (Smyrna, Ga.); Kennesaw State University
- Zach Von Worley, Greif (Santa Cruz, Calif.); Santa Clara University
- Liam Wells, International Paper (Memphis, Tenn.); Michigan State University
- Anja Westenberg, Van Dyk Recycling Solutions (Norwalk, Conn.); Western Connecticut State University
- Sean Williams, Greif (Copley, Ohio); Lewis and Clark Community College
- Fiamma Zion, Bulrushed Books (Moscow, Idaho); New Saint Andrews College
The PSI Chapter has been awarding academic scholarships on an annual basis for more than 27 years. Over the past 10 years alone, PSI has increased its annual scholarship awards almost fivefold—from four to 19 scholarships—while the dollar amount has grown more than sixfold—from $8,000 to $50,000.
Raising $50,000 is an incredible accomplishment for PSI but it didn’t come out of the blue. According to Krever, since the pandemic, chapter leadership has been raising money “the old-fashioned way” by contacting members directly.
“We reach out to colleagues, friends, suppliers, and customers, share what we’re doing and how we’re trying to provide funding for their employees’ children who are high school seniors,” she said. “Through that work, we’ve been able to grow our funds and develop a strong cadre of donors who recognize the value of the scholarship program and want to help. The scholarship has taken on a life of its own and plays an important role in the business of our chapter and added value to chapter membership.”
