Ohio Cooperative Education Association

OCEA 2009 High School Scholarship
Ryan Finke – St. Xavier High School
Ryan is planning to attend the University of Cincinnati for Digital Design. Ryan owns his own website freelancing business and has done so since his sophomore year. In his business, he “brainstorms, designs, codes, and produces high quality websites for fair wages.” He is currently working on three separate projects, one for a high profile construction business in Cincinnati. His work ethic of working hard, learning from mistakes, and bearing an “unquenchable passion” for what he does comes from what he learned from his dad, who also runs his own business. He is excited about the freedom of the co-op program to go anywhere locally, nationally, or globally. He summed up his application best by saying, “it’s not the end which is important, but rather the journey taken to reach that end.”

OCEA 2008 High School Scholarship 1st Runner Up
Paul Carey, Jr. – Lakota West High School
Paul will be attending Miami University studying Economics with a minor in Actuarial Science. Paul has gone above and beyond showcasing his leadership abilities in numerous ways upon hearing difficult news that his mother was diagnosed with ALS. He and his brother led an initiative to establish a local team for the Walk to Defeat ALS fundraiser called kids4cure. Their goal was to raise $10,000 and have 100 walkers but come the day of the walk, there were 500 walkers and the team raised over $80,000, which quickly led them to become the poster team for the national ALS Association. At that time, Paul was 13 and along with his brother, they gave “a voice to ALS patients incapable of speaking themselves.” They did this by giving about 50 speeches, traveling to NYC for interviews with NBC and Time for Kids magazine, and visiting Congress numerous times to advocate on behalf of research-related bills. All this led to Congress’ 2008 signing of the ALS Registry Act which Paul spent four years lobbying for on Capitol Hill. The kids4cure team has since raised $300,000 in hopes of finding a cure for ALS.

OCEA 2009 Co-op of the Year 2-Year Scholarship Winner
Anthony Budke – Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
Tony’s major is Construction Management and at Cincinnati State and Technical Community College, he is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, serving as the group’s Treasurer. In the community, Tony is a member of Give Back Cincinnati which works with Habitat for Humanity to help paint homes. He’s also volunteered in New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity working in Harry Connick, Jr.’s Musician Village for a week last summer and plans to return again in July. With his co-op at Paric Corporation, he was able to work closely with superintendents and project managers on a $100 million job. Tony’s co-op employer stated that he has the “drive and ability not often seen by other young people in the workforce who aren’t prepared and aren’t willing to do what is required. He is eager to get involved in all aspects of project management and field supervision. On several occasions he has been willing to sacrifice his personal time to be a part of tasks that offer a learning experience.” It is because of Tony’s amazing qualities that we award him the 2009 Two Year Co-op of the Year award.

OCEA 2009 Co-op of the Year 4-Year Scholarship Winner
Mark Stecher – University of Cincinnati
Mark is studying aerospace engineering and has maintained a 4.0 GPA at the University of Cincinnati. He is the first in his class of 288 in the College of Engineering, twice receiving the F.L. Ferdinand award from aerospace faculty for outstanding academic achievement. As a member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, he was named a Scholar, making him one of 100 scholars in the nation for his excellence in academics, leadership, and involvement in the community. Some of the local activities he’s performed in were constructing a community softball field, renovating homes for families with financial need for Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky, and caring for yards of the disabled or elderly through his church. At his co-op with GE Aviation, he worked on a project to improve engine performance in future designs. In Mark’s recommendation letter, his co-op supervisor said: “The pinnacle of achievement in formal education is the doctorate of philosophy, which serves to recognize one’s ability for independent thought and for their contribution in advancing their field of study. As an undergraduate, Mark clearly demonstrated proclivity for independent thought and was able to make a valuable contribution to GE in the very specialized and technically challenging field of aero-elasticity. His natural intellectual ability, presentation skills, motivation, drive and determination make him worthy of commendation for your highest award and recognition.”

OCEA 2009 Co-op of the Year 4-Year Scholarship 1st Runner Up
Brittany Collins - University of Dayton
Brittany is majoring in Chemical Engineering and co-oping at Cornerstone Research Group. Brittany says her co-op has helped her career goals by deciding the type of manufacturing she’d like to pursue. At her co-op, she worked with polymer systems and resins, making and testing new materials. “Through the expertise of my project leaders and the hands-on opportunity of working with material systems, I fell in love with materials engineering.” She ambitiously decided to complete her undergraduate in Chemical Engineering and master’s degree simultaneously in 5 years, which was surprising to her as she was not planning on going to graduate school, let alone in Materials Engineering prior to her co-op! Brittany also has written a 25-page technical paper which will be published and presented at the Society of Advanced Materials and Process Engineering next month. On campus, Brittany was awarded the Fr. Fitz Sr. Award of Excellence for most outstanding sophomore chemical engineer. This past year, she has been in the top 10% of her chemical engineering class and is a member of many organizations on campus such as Tau Beta Pi, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Society of Women Engineers, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Within the community, she’s involved in many activities such as Relay for Life, Gil Scouts, and Walk to D’feat ALS.

OCEA is pleased to annouce our 2008 Scholarship Awards!

OCEA 2008 High School Scholarship
Andrew Hubbard - Amelia High School
Andrew is planning to attend the University of Cincinnati for Mechanical Engineering. Andrew is active in mission trips with his church and was made a leader of his group last year. Every year for a week Andrew participates in the Appalachian Service Project helping to create livable housing for the area residents.

OCEA 2008 Co-op of the Year 2-Year Scholarship Winner
Priscilla Murphy - Clark State Community College
Priscilla’s major is Accounting. After high school, Priscilla served almost five years of active duty in the Army. Currently, she is in the Army Reserves, a full-time student, mother and a finance intern. Words used to describe Priscilla are: responsible, intelligent, professional and a leader. Base, her co-op employer sited that Priscilla goes above and beyond on all assignments given to her. She was even successful at saving her company money by reviewing billing errors.

OCEA 2008 Co-op of the Year 2-Year Scholarship 1st Runner Up
Matthew Paul - Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
Matt is majoring in Pre-Business Administration. Matthew is an active member of the National Guard in which he has served seven active years. Matt also received the Army Commendation Medal for his service in Kosovo. Matt also contributes to his community by volunteering for the Salvation Army, church activities, and campaigning for Congressman Rob Portman.

OCEA 2008 Co-op of the Year 4-Year Scholarship Winner
Steve Hunt - Ohio Northern University
Steve is studying mechanical engineering. He is very active at his college as well as his community. Steve has volunteered in his community donating over a hundred hours to projects such as the local river clean ups, helping local churches and the Relay for Life events. His co-op employer describes him as a hard worker always willing to do more. He has been an asset to the team and has also participated in the hands-on science training program for the local elementary and middle schools.

OCEA 2008 Co-op of the Year 4-Year Scholarship 1st Runner Up
Lori Hufford - University of Cincinnati
Lori is majoring in Finance and co-oping at Marvin Poer Company. Lori attributes many of her successes to her co-op experience. Her co-op employer describes her as a hard worker who learns quickly and possesses good interpersonal communication. Lori was even able to travel with Marvin Poer and interact with external clients. She has also been very involved in community service work such as: Red Cross, Child Abuse prevention and volunteer work at Deaconess Hospital.




	Scholarships -2010 High School Scholarship Application Form - 2010 Two Year College Scholarship Application Form - 2010 Four Year College Scholarship Application Form	OCEA is pleased to annouce our 2009 Scholarship Awards! OCEA 2009 High School Scholarship Ryan Finke – St. Xavier High School Ryan is planning to attend the University of Cincinnati for Digital Design. Ryan owns his own website freelancing business and has done so since his sophomore year. In his business, he “brainstorms, designs, codes, and produces high quality websites for fair wages.” He is currently working on three separate projects, one for a high profile construction business in Cincinnati. His work ethic of working hard, learning from mistakes, and bearing an “unquenchable passion” for what he does comes from what he learned from his dad, who also runs his own business. He is excited about the freedom of the co-op program to go anywhere locally, nationally, or globally. He summed up his application best by saying, “it’s not the end which is important, but rather the journey taken to reach that end.” OCEA 2008 High School Scholarship 1st Runner Up Paul Carey, Jr. – Lakota West High School Paul will be attending Miami University studying Economics with a minor in Actuarial Science. Paul has gone above and beyond showcasing his leadership abilities in numerous ways upon hearing difficult news that his mother was diagnosed with ALS. He and his brother led an initiative to establish a local team for the Walk to Defeat ALS fundraiser called kids4cure. Their goal was to raise $10,000 and have 100 walkers but come the day of the walk, there were 500 walkers and the team raised over $80,000, which quickly led them to become the poster team for the national ALS Association. At that time, Paul was 13 and along with his brother, they gave “a voice to ALS patients incapable of speaking themselves.” They did this by giving about 50 speeches, traveling to NYC for interviews with NBC and Time for Kids magazine, and visiting Congress numerous times to advocate on behalf of research-related bills. All this led to Congress’ 2008 signing of the ALS Registry Act which Paul spent four years lobbying for on Capitol Hill. The kids4cure team has since raised $300,000 in hopes of finding a cure for ALS. OCEA 2009 Co-op of the Year 2-Year Scholarship Winner Anthony Budke – Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Tony’s major is Construction Management and at Cincinnati State and Technical Community College, he is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, serving as the group’s Treasurer. In the community, Tony is a member of Give Back Cincinnati which works with Habitat for Humanity to help paint homes. He’s also volunteered in New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity working in Harry Connick, Jr.’s Musician Village for a week last summer and plans to return again in July. With his co-op at Paric Corporation, he was able to work closely with superintendents and project managers on a $100 million job. Tony’s co-op employer stated that he has the “drive and ability not often seen by other young people in the workforce who aren’t prepared and aren’t willing to do what is required. He is eager to get involved in all aspects of project management and field supervision. On several occasions he has been willing to sacrifice his personal time to be a part of tasks that offer a learning experience.” It is because of Tony’s amazing qualities that we award him the 2009 Two Year Co-op of the Year award. OCEA 2009 Co-op of the Year 4-Year Scholarship Winner Mark Stecher – University of Cincinnati Mark is studying aerospace engineering and has maintained a 4.0 GPA at the University of Cincinnati. He is the first in his class of 288 in the College of Engineering, twice receiving the F.L. Ferdinand award from aerospace faculty for outstanding academic achievement. As a member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, he was named a Scholar, making him one of 100 scholars in the nation for his excellence in academics, leadership, and involvement in the community. Some of the local activities he’s performed in were constructing a community softball field, renovating homes for families with financial need for Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky, and caring for yards of the disabled or elderly through his church. At his co-op with GE Aviation, he worked on a project to improve engine performance in future designs. In Mark’s recommendation letter, his co-op supervisor said: “The pinnacle of achievement in formal education is the doctorate of philosophy, which serves to recognize one’s ability for independent thought and for their contribution in advancing their field of study. As an undergraduate, Mark clearly demonstrated proclivity for independent thought and was able to make a valuable contribution to GE in the very specialized and technically challenging field of aero-elasticity. His natural intellectual ability, presentation skills, motivation, drive and determination make him worthy of commendation for your highest award and recognition.” OCEA 2009 Co-op of the Year 4-Year Scholarship 1st Runner Up Brittany Collins - University of Dayton Brittany is majoring in Chemical Engineering and co-oping at Cornerstone Research Group. Brittany says her co-op has helped her career goals by deciding the type of manufacturing she’d like to pursue. At her co-op, she worked with polymer systems and resins, making and testing new materials. “Through the expertise of my project leaders and the hands-on opportunity of working with material systems, I fell in love with materials engineering.” She ambitiously decided to complete her undergraduate in Chemical Engineering and master’s degree simultaneously in 5 years, which was surprising to her as she was not planning on going to graduate school, let alone in Materials Engineering prior to her co-op! Brittany also has written a 25-page technical paper which will be published and presented at the Society of Advanced Materials and Process Engineering next month. On campus, Brittany was awarded the Fr. Fitz Sr. Award of Excellence for most outstanding sophomore chemical engineer. This past year, she has been in the top 10% of her chemical engineering class and is a member of many organizations on campus such as Tau Beta Pi, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Society of Women Engineers, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Within the community, she’s involved in many activities such as Relay for Life, Gil Scouts, and Walk to D’feat ALS. OCEA is pleased to annouce our 2008 Scholarship Awards! OCEA 2008 High School Scholarship Andrew Hubbard - Amelia High School Andrew is planning to attend the University of Cincinnati for Mechanical Engineering. Andrew is active in mission trips with his church and was made a leader of his group last year. Every year for a week Andrew participates in the Appalachian Service Project helping to create livable housing for the area residents. OCEA 2008 Co-op of the Year 2-Year Scholarship Winner Priscilla Murphy - Clark State Community College Priscilla’s major is Accounting. After high school, Priscilla served almost five years of active duty in the Army. Currently, she is in the Army Reserves, a full-time student, mother and a finance intern. Words used to describe Priscilla are: responsible, intelligent, professional and a leader. Base, her co-op employer sited that Priscilla goes above and beyond on all assignments given to her. She was even successful at saving her company money by reviewing billing errors. OCEA 2008 Co-op of the Year 2-Year Scholarship 1st Runner Up Matthew Paul - Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Matt is majoring in Pre-Business Administration. Matthew is an active member of the National Guard in which he has served seven active years. Matt also received the Army Commendation Medal for his service in Kosovo. Matt also contributes to his community by volunteering for the Salvation Army, church activities, and campaigning for Congressman Rob Portman. OCEA 2008 Co-op of the Year 4-Year Scholarship Winner Steve Hunt - Ohio Northern University Steve is studying mechanical engineering. He is very active at his college as well as his community. Steve has volunteered in his community donating over a hundred hours to projects such as the local river clean ups, helping local churches and the Relay for Life events. His co-op employer describes him as a hard worker always willing to do more. He has been an asset to the team and has also participated in the hands-on science training program for the local elementary and middle schools. OCEA 2008 Co-op of the Year 4-Year Scholarship 1st Runner Up Lori Hufford - University of Cincinnati Lori is majoring in Finance and co-oping at Marvin Poer Company. Lori attributes many of her successes to her co-op experience. Her co-op employer describes her as a hard worker who learns quickly and possesses good interpersonal communication. Lori was even able to travel with Marvin Poer and interact with external clients. She has also been very involved in community service work such as: Red Cross, Child Abuse prevention and volunteer work at Deaconess Hospital.


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