GRAPEVINE, Texas — The Electronic Security Association (ESA) is now accepting entries to its 2020 Youth Scholarship Program, a philanthropic endeavor that aims to support the futures of sons and daughters of first responders.
The electronic security industry works intimately with the public safety sector. Police, firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) offer a vital service to communities in a shared goal of keeping people, places and property safe, an ESA announcement states.
To give back to this group that so positively impacts communities across the nation, ESA developed its Youth Scholarship Program. The initiative has contributed more than $700,500 to deserving high school seniors who hold a commitment to excellence and are inspired by the work their first responder parent(s) do in the line of duty each day.
This year, 14 state associations across the nation will join forces with ESA in a programmatic effort to support the families of first responders. Winners will be selected from each state and will then compete at the national level for ESA’s first and second place awards.
The first-place winner will be honored with her/his first responder parent and presented with a check before the industry at the Electronic Security Expo (ESX) on June 11, 2020, in Nashville.
Over the course of more than two decades, ESA’s Youth Scholarship Program has awarded more than $771,000. In 2019, over $70,000 was awarded to college-bound students from coast to coast, including the national first place winner, Emma Fatzaun of Sims, N.C.
Fatzuan attended James B. Hunt High School in Wilson, N.C., where she was a 4.0 student. She has entered Harvard University, where she is majoring in biochemistry and plans to pursue a future in medical research. Fatzaun, accepted her $9,000 award on the ESX Main Stage during the Closing Keynote Luncheon on June 6. She was joined by her father, Captain and Lead Fireman John Fatzaun.
Scholarship applications can be access at ESAweb.org/scholarship.
The scholarship awards are made possible by partners COPS Monitoring and Digital Monitoring Products (DMP).
