Crowley Awards Scholarships to University of Alaska Fairbanks Students
(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.; August 31, 2011) – Crowley Maritime Corporation’s longstanding commitment to support the Alaskan communities in which the company does business and in which its employees reside, was highlighted recently, as the company awarded four scholarships to students from rural communities attending the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Students Alexandra Waska, Ben Overacker, Timothy Nick and Rebecca Church were recognized with Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarships for strong academic records, leadership capacity and financial need. Bob Cox, vice president of customer service for Crowley’s petroleum distribution group, presented the scholarships to the students.
Crowley created this scholarship program to help young people – primarily, but not exclusively – from the rural communities it serves achieve their dreams. Preference is given to native Alaska students and students from Anchorage, Kenai, Palmer, Wasilla, Nenana, Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Glennallen, Valdez, Fort Yukon, Galena, St. Mary’s, Iliamna, Bethel, Aniak, McGrath, Hooper Bay, St. Michael, Nome, Kotzebue and Prudhoe Bay. Crowley serves as the main petroleum distribution and sales company in these communities.
Waska, a native of Bethel, is a freshman studying to become a fisheries biologist. A four-year JROTC member and graduate of the International Baccalaureate program, Waska hopes to use her education to teach villages how to better provide for themselves using Alaska’s waters, particularly by fishing. Last summer, she joined the Alaska Native Science and Engineer Program and interned with the Kuskokwim Native Association of Fish and Game.
“This scholarship will help me achieve my dream of helping those in need to understand the concept of Alaska’s waters,” she said. “I grew up in an area that was and still is struggling with fishing. I hope to use my degree to change things for the better in the future.”
Overacker is a third-year fisheries major, who moved with his family to Alaska in 2006 to complete his higher education. A father of two daughters, Overacker is a truck driver and volunteers as a youth counselor at church while studying to complete his degree.
“I am honored to receive financial help from Crowley,” he said. “It says something about a company, its culture and the people who make it what it is, to be so community oriented and forward thinking.”
Nick, a Yup’ik Eskimo from Western Alaska, is a second-year student studying civil engineering. Nick hopes to work in the Yukon/Kuskokwim region, using his degree to help improve the quality of life of the people in Western Alaska.
“I very much appreciate Crowley for giving me an opportunity to further my education,” he said. “I believe I could contribute to the region if I am given the opportunity. I grew up in this place and would like to return as a benefactor of my people.”
Church, a Yup’ik Eskimo from Quinhagak, Alaska, is in the final year of her undergraduate studies. She plans to attend optometry school for her doctorate upon graduation. Church wants to return to the communities of Alaska when she completes her education and make positive changes in the natives’ lives.
“Crowley has created positive momentum by encouraging the development of communities with the services they provide,” she said. “I want to show my people there are many opportunities available and that we have to be the change that creates effective and positive momentum in our region and for our people.”
Since 1984, Crowley has provided more than half-a-million dollars in scholarship funding for approximately 200 students studying at maritime academies and other select institutions. The company has also donated more than $2 million over the years to support other educational programs.
In 1994, Crowley Chairman, President and CEO, Tom Crowley Jr., established the Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarship Program, in honor of his father, who guided the company to extraordinary heights before passing away in 1994. The company continues to give scholarship dollars to deserving students in the U.S., Alaska and Puerto Rico. In 2006, the program expanded to Central America and to date has provided financial assistance to 30 students in that region.
To learn more about the Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarship program, visitwww.crowley.com and click on the “About Us > In Our Communities > Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarship Program.”
Since 1953, Crowley has provided various marine, petroleum distribution, and energy support services in Alaska – from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska and both coastal and inland communities including those along the Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers – and today has offices and operations throughout the state with more than 650 employees. The company has consistently provided unique solutions to Alaska’s logistics and marine transportation challenges and played an important role in Alaska’s business development and in protecting its environment.
At the southern terminus of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, Crowley provides tanker escort and docking services in the Prince William Sound for Alyeska Pipeline Service Company’s Ship Escort/Response Vessel System, utilizing some of the most technologically advanced and powerful tugboats in the world. With a storage capacity of more than 39 million gallons, Crowley is strongly positioned as a leader in the Alaska fuel industry, providing transportation, distribution and sales of petroleum products to more than 280 communities across Alaska. Crowley supports the energy industry on the North Slope with summer sealifts of large production modules and various marine transportation services, and in the winter supports oil field development with CATCO® all-terrain vehicles. These heavy-lift overland transport units have large bag tires designed to work over the tundra without damaging the delicate Arctic ecosystem. Crowley also provides tanker assist and escort services at Tesoro Alaska Company’s Nikiski refinery in Cook Inlet.
# # #
Caption, clockwise from top left: Overacker, Church, Nick, Waska