Clayton AXA Office Celebrates Local Scholarship Recipients

On Wednesday night, AXA Advisors LLC celebrated five recent St. Louis area high school graduates' commitment to community service by awarding them with college scholarships.

A reception for the students and their families was held in the lobby of the Merrill Lynch Building in Clayton, where the St. Louis branch of AXA Advisors is based.

"I was really excited when I heard I got the scholarship," said Anisha Gururaj, a graduate of Parkway Central High School who will be attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the fall.

"It's a great honor," added Dustin Stanton, a graduate of Centralia High School who will be heading to the University of Missouri in Columbia in the fall.

Aside from the excitement of receiving the scholarship money, the students were also glad to be recognized for their extensive community service work.

"I'm glad that my hard work has finally paid off," said DeShaunya Ware, a graduate of Construction Careers Center who will also be heading to the University of Missouri in Columbia in the fall.

"I'm beyond flattered and excited," said Courtnie Henson, a graduate of Marquette High School who will be attending Spellman College in the fall. "It will definitely help in the future."

The scholarship recipients' parents were also excited about their kids' good fortune.

"It's really nice for these folks to extend a hand - it helps so much," said Michael McGlynn, father of Mary McGlynn, a graduate of Althoff High School who will be attending Creighton University in the fall.

When the presentation of the scholarships officially began, each of the students in attendance were invited to share the community service work that helped them earn their scholarship money. That work included everything from an arts program to raising chickens and school conflict mediation to music education. One of the recipients even started the popular program "NETwork Against Malaria."

"Our future is in good hands with you all," said Jim Reese, branch manager and executive vice president of AXA Advisors in St. Louis. "It's inspiring to hear all those stories."

These five students, along with three others not in attendance, were given scholarships as part of the AXA Achievement program, which started in 2003. Since then, the company has awarded more than $20 million in scholarships to 4,300 students nationwide, according to Jo Ann Tizzano, the assistant vice president of external affairs for AXA Advisors.

For those who don't know, AXA Advisors' financial professionals work with individuals, families and business owners to provide financial strategies, products and services, including life insurance and retirement planning.

"AXA Advisors is about investments and we consider these scholarships an investment in these students and in our community," said Reese.

The scholarship recipients were determined by the company Scholarship America, and most of the students heard about the AXA program through their school counselors or searching for scholarships online.

2011 State AXA Achievement $10,000 Scholarship Recipients
Anisha Gururaj, Chesterfield, Parkway Central High School (winner for the state of Missouri)
Mary McGlynn, Belleville, Althoff High School (winner for the state of Illinois)

2011 St. Louis Area AXA Achievement $2,000 Community Scholarship Recipients
Mona Dai, Valley Park, Parkway South High School
Katherine Godar, St. Louis, Villa Duchesne High School
Courtnie Henson, Chesterfield, Marquette High School
Jessie Ritter, Cape Girardeau, Notre Dame High School
Dustin Stanton, Centralia, Centralia High School
DeShaunya Ware, St. Louis, Construction Careers Center

More information about the AXA Achievement program can be found on their website.