2020 Dan Cohen Memorial Scholarships Awarded

By Arizona Roofing Contractors Association.

The Arizona Roofing Industry Foundation (ARIF) is pleased to announce this year’s scholarship recipients.

The scholarships are named as a tribute to Dan Cohen, a former contractor, ARCA Life Member, and executive director of ARCA for 12 years. Since ARIF’s inception 11 years ago, 70 scholarships at $2,500 each have now been awarded.

With the virus-related cancellation of the 2020 Spring Sporting Clays Tournament—and the resulting loss of event revenue—fewer awards were given this year than anticipated.

All recipients were selected based on their academic records, potential to succeed, leadership and participation in school and community activities, honors, work experience, and the ARIF Board interview evaluation. To be eligible to apply for an ARIF scholarship, the applicant must be a full-time employee of an ARCA member (roofing contractor or associate member) or their dependent children or spouse. In addition, applicants must be either high school seniors/graduates planning to enroll or students currently enrolled in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two or four year college, university, or vocational technical school. The next scholarship applications will be released in April of 2021.

Justin Grady will be a junior at the University of Arizona. He has earned a 3.7 GPA as an engineering major. This is his second award. He is the son of Allison Grady from Star Roofing.

Olivia Raisanen is in her second year of the masters program in architecture at the University of Michigan where she has a 4.0 GPA. This represents her second award. She is the daughter of Warren Raisanen of Trades Unlimited.

Chad Lancucki will be a junior at Arizona State University, where he has earned a 3.6 GPA in mechanical engineering. This is his second award. He is the son of Veronica Lancucki from Allstate Roofing.

Daniel Hyman will be a senior at Arizona State University where he is an education major with a 3.3 GPA. This is his third award. He is the son of Russ Hyman from Gryphon Roofing.

Ryland Phipps will be a junior at the University of Arizona. He has maintained a 3.8 GPA in pursuit of a degree in astronomy. This is his third award. He is the son of Donald Phipps from Roofing Supply Group in Tucson.

Alex Riordan will be a senior at Arizona State University, where he maintains a 3.4 GPA as a finance major. This is his second award. He is the son of Michael Riordan from Banker Insulation.

Ryan Diaz will be a senior at Tarleton State University in Texas. He is majoring in accounting and has a 3.1 GPA. This is his second award.

Simon Nichols just graduated from Marana High School where he maintained a 3.7 GPA. He will be attending the University of Arizona where he will pursue a business degree with an emphasis on finance. He is the son of Melissa Ziegler from Artisan Roofing Systems.

Learn more about ARCA and becoming a member.