Voya Financial Announces Recipients of 2018 Voya Scholars Program

NEW YORK, May 31, 2018 /3BL Media/ - Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), has announced the winners of Voya Scholars — a scholarship program launched in collaboration with its nonprofit partner, Scholarship America. Voya Financial Chairman and CEO Rodney O. Martin Jr. announced the recipients of five $10,000 scholarships at Scholarship America's 2018 Dreams to Success awards dinner in Washington, D.C. The event celebrated students completing their postsecondary degrees, and honored those who have helped students achieve their educational goals.

“At Voya, we know that education and financial literacy are vital to a fulfilling life — to and through retirement,” said Martin, who also served as honorary chair at the dinner. “We are proud to partner with Scholarship America, who shares our commitment to educating and empowering young people so that they can take control of their future. We are thrilled to join in celebrating the 2018 Dreams to Success award recipients — and to honor the extraordinary individuals and organizations who have contributed to their success.” 

The 2018 Voya Scholars are exceptional students who plan to be enrolled in the 2018 – 2019 academic year. To be selected, they must aspire to have a career in business or finance, exemplify Voya's corporate values and have participated previously in a Voya Financial or Voya Foundation charitable program. The winners of the 2018 Voya Scholars program are:

• Elysia Utech (Minneapolis) – Elysia is a first-generation college student and a beneficiary of BestPrep’s Minnesota Business Venture program, where her success led her to take on an internship with the nonprofit following her graduation. Through this experience, Elysia has become financially savvy and entrepreneurial, and believes that her education has the potential to be her most important investment. She is starting at Emory University in the fall to study business and creative writing.
• Emely Mojica (Bronx, New York) – Emely is a first-generation college student and a beneficiary of Cristo Rey New York High School’s Corporate Work-Study Program. Emely completed a two-year internship program in Voya’s New York office, honing her skills by working on the Marketing and Human Resources teams. Emely will start at Fordham University in the fall.
• Samantha Montes (Long Island, New York) – Samantha is a first-generation college student and a beneficiary of Cristo Rey New York High School’s Corporate Work-Study Program, where she interned with Voya for three years. In her application, she cited this as a life-changing experience and continues to keep in touch with previous managers who guide her through her career and academics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
• Misha Caleb (Washington, D.C.) – Misha is a beneficiary of Futures and Options and an incoming sophomore at Howard University in Washington, D.C., studying international business. Misha grew up in the Bronx, New York, where she attended an under-resourced school, but she was able to take advantage of the only three AP courses that were offered. Motivated by watching her mother’s challenges as a Guyanese immigrant, Misha used any extracurricular opportunity presented to her and was able to gain work and leadership experience before she even finished high school.
• Ka’Naysha Scott (Atlanta) – Ka’Naysha is a beneficiary of Junior Achievement Atlanta. Ka’Naysha’s parents struggled to find work during the economic downturn; as a result, the family experienced homelessness. While she was unable to participate in extracurricular activities at this time, she focused her energy on her schoolwork and achieved a 4.11 GPA. Ka’Naysha is heading to Chapman University in the fall to pursue her dreams of becoming a software engineer.

The Voya Scholars model is designed to strengthen Voya Foundation’s relationships with the young adults who have benefited from its philanthropic efforts. It also will help the foundation track the achievements of previous program participants. The Voya Scholars program enables the foundation to better understand if the students who learned STEM skills in its grade K-8 initiatives — or were empowered to take control of their financial futures in its high school financial-literacy programs — retained their knowledge and are putting it to use. This model enables Voya Financial to support exemplary students in pursuing higher education, while gauging the success of its goal to create financially resilient youth.

Recipients of the Voya Scholars program are eligible for mentorship and leadership opportunities, as well as career coaching and job-search assistance provided by Voya employees. They may also receive priority consideration for open internships and full-time positions with the company. Additional information can be found on the Voya Scholars web page.

About Voya Financial^®

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), helps Americans plan, invest and protect their savings — to get ready to retire better. Serving the financial needs of approximately 14.7 million individual and institutional customers in the United States, Voya is a Fortune 500 company that had $8.6 billion in revenue in 2017. The company had $541 billion in total assets under management and administration as of March 31, 2018. With a clear mission to make a secure financial future possible — one person, one family, one institution at a time — Voya’s vision is to be America’s Retirement Company^®. Certified as a “Great Place to Work” by the Great Place to Work^® Institute, Voya is equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible. Voya has been recognized as one of the 2018 World’s Most Ethical Companies^® by the Ethisphere Institute, one of the 2018 World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune magazine and one of the Top Green Companies in the U.S. by Newsweek magazine. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @Voya