CRCA Honors 2019 Scholarship Winners

On May 14th, CRCA honored the 2019 CRCA, CRC & Local #11 Scholarship winners at Maggiano's Oak Brook.

The evening featured a dinner and a keynote presentation by former Blackhawk and Olympic gold medalist, Jack O'Callahan who spoke to attendees about his desire to seek excellence no matter how insurmountable the odds may seem. 2019 scholarship recipients include:

CRCA Scholarship Recipients

• Anna Darville
• Kane Layng

CRC Scholarship Recipients

• Jason Cler, Ridgeworth Roofing
• Megan Jeffries, Waukegan Roofing
• Artur Konopka, Crowther Roofing & Sheet Metal
• Itzel Murillo, Sager Sealants
• Jordan Roque, M.W. Powell Company
• Brian White, All Sealants

Terrell Webster Scholarship Recipient

• Jacquelyn Acosta, Anderson & Shah Roofing

Local 11 Member Scholarship Recipient

• Abedulkarim Shalabi

Larry Mirabella Scholarship Recipient

• Matthew Mirabella

Congratulations to the 2019 recipients. The event also provided updates from past recipients:

Madelyn Moy, 2018, Northwestern University - Since starting at Northwestern in the fall, I have had an amazing experience meeting new people from around the world and being academically challenged every day to learn new things. I am currently majoring in Integrated Science, Biology, and Anthropology, in the hopes of pursuing academic research in microbiology and primatology. On campus, I am involved in several student organizations. One that is particularly close to my heart is called Supplies for Dreams, a non-profit that provides mentoring and academic enrichment to underprivileged middle school students in Chicago Public Schools, which I am a product of. I am also conducting research in a biological anthropology lab that uses primate fecal samples to analyze the effects of diet on the gut microbiota. I am forever grateful to CRCA for helping make this opportunity to pursue higher education possible. Thank you again so much!

Danielle Allaire, 2017, Miami University - As I am wrapping up my second year at Miami University, I am already sad about being halfway through my time here. I have continued along the path of graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in biology, a Pre-medical studies co-major, and Spanish and general business minors. I have continued my involvement in the Biology research lab I joined last year. I have been working on the project I received a grant for last year and recently presented at Miami's annual undergraduate research forum. I am staying in Oxford for the summer to continue my work in the lab and learn new experimental techniques. I was elected as the VP of Finance for the Miami chapter of MEDLIFE and traveled on a service learning trip to Lima, Peru this winter term with about 25 other Miami students. While there, we volunteered in free medical clinics, helped build a cement staircase, and were able to explore the beautiful city of Lima and the country of Peru. This trip was lifechanging to say the least! I continue to be a supplemental instructor (SI) for the honors introductory biology courses typically taken by freshmen. I really like the relationships I am able to build with fellow peers while also assisting them academically in a discipline I am so passionate about.  This semester I have completed all the requirements necessary to graduate with honors while I have also deciding to pursue an honors with distinction independent project. I am so appreciative for this scholarship and all the opportunities it has given me the freedom to take while in college.

Sheilly Moreno, 2017, Washington University - This past year, I have declared a Major in East Asian Studies with a focus on Chinese Korean relations and two minors, one in Spanish and one in Speech and Hearing Sciences. Although it was unexpected, I have switched my biology major and centered more on speech and hearing sciences which I have absolutely loved. I was able to tour the Central Institute for the Deaf, where I experienced firsthand one on one therapy between speech language pathologists and hard of hearing or deaf students. This year has been vital into identifying my post-grad plans as I go throughout college. Thanks to CRCA I have been able to pay off my remaining school fees which have allowed me to further pursue my education.

Matteo Geatti, 2016, University of Pennsylvania - I'm currently finishing up my junior year at the University of Pennsylvania. I'm majoring in Healthcare Management & Policy as well as Organizational Effectiveness. For the past 2 summers I have worked as an Operations Intern at Northwestern Medicine. This upcoming summer, I will be interning at Aetna as one of their General Management Summer Associates and I'll be working with their Sales Support department.    Outside of academics, I'm involved in 3 main clubs/organizations: Kite & Key Society, Delta Sigma Pi, and Peers Helping Incoming New Students (PHINS). Kite & Key is an organization that gives tours of UPenn to visitors and prospective students. Delta Sigma Pi is a professional business fraternity here on campus. PHINS is a program that helps coordinate and run our New Student Orientation for the incoming freshman.

Joseph Pinakidis, 2016, Michigan State – I am proud to say that I am still maintaining a 4.0 GPA in my Mechanical Engineering studies and, at the Fall career fair, I was able to secure an internship for this upcoming summer with Ingersoll Rand at their Trane location in La Crosse, WI. I also volunteered at Girls’ STEM Day here at MSU in the fall where I helped introduce little girls ages 7-12 to the fun and excitement of various engineering professions through engaging activities! As far as my major, I joined the first ever Human Powered Vehicle Team here at MSU in the fall. I served as the roll cage team lead, and we designed and fabricated our vehicle throughout both semesters. Our ultimate goal was to compete at the National ASME Engineering Fest-North held here at MSU in early April. I am proud to say that we had a competitive vehicle, and finished 5th in the women’s drag race event and 29th overall out of 50 universities from around the globe! I plan on continuing to work hard in the classroom, but also enjoy my last year at college to its fullest potential. I also hope to be a TA for Mechanical Vibrations next Spring 2020 so that I can see if I like teaching and helping students as a profession!   The CRCA scholarship means so much to me, as it helps offset some of the many costs of college including tuition, textbooks, rent, etc. I am so thankful for your organization!

Allison Salter, 2015, Rice University - These past two semesters, most of my time and energy has been poured into my senior design capstone project: TinyStitch. My team and I were tasked with designing a micro suturing tool for in utero laparoscopic surgeries to repair fetal birth defects, such as spina bifida. These highly specialized surgeries are life-changing but performed at only a handful of hospitals due to the lack of specialized tooling and resulting procedural complexity. We filed for a provisional patent in April and are currently working with Johnson & Johnson’s Center for Device Innovation to develop high fidelity prototypes for bench top and animal testing. We presented our design all over the country and won First in Undergraduate Design at the Bay Area Showcase and Second in the Advanced Health Track at Johns Hopkins. Additionally, for my design work in this and other projects, ongoing service, and leadership positions, my department honored me with three awards: Distinction in Research & Creative Works, Outstanding Service, and Outstanding Senior Design Team awards.  I will be graduating this May from Rice University, B.S. Bioengineering, after which I will be backpacking through Spain, Portugal, and Morocco for six weeks. When I return, I will be moving to Milwaukee, WI, to work at GE Healthcare in the Edison Engineering Development Program, a 2-3 year rotational leadership development program.

Daniel Loizzo, 2013, Northwestern University - After I graduated from Northwestern University in 2017, I went on to Complete a Master's in Medical Sciences from Loyola University Chicago. Since finishing my Master's degree, I am performing stem cell research at Northwestern. I am studying the 16p11.2 duplication, a model of schizophrenia, and am working to find small molecule regulators of the protein kalirin, which has been implicated in many neurodevelopmental disorders. In 2019, I will begin studying at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.  I would like to thank the CRCA for all of their support in helping me achieve my dream of becoming a physician. Without their help, this dream would not be a reality for me!

Una Kim, 2010, Harvard University - After graduating from Harvard University in 2015 with a degree in Economics, I kicked off my career in management consulting at Deloitte Consulting. After four years of very fulfilling client engagements, I will be pursuing my MBA starting this fall at the UC Berkeley - Haas School of Business!  Sending lots of love to the CRCA. Thank you for investing in me and my future!

Joe Cacioppo, 2007, University of Chicago - I'm working in Baton Rouge at Louisiana State University currently as a veterinarian but will be moving to Seattle this summer to take on a new job as an emergency clinician at Summit Animal Hospital. Please pass my congratulations on to this year's award recipients! Thank you again to CRCA and all that you do!

Jeffery Bailin, 2006, Georgetown University - Since graduating from Georgetown University in 2010, I moved to NYC and spent 5 years at Credit Suisse in Healthcare Equity Research, ultimately being promoted to Vice President. In September 2015, I joined ClearBridge Investments, a global asset management firm as a generalist research analyst on the Small & Midcap team. I got married in June 2018 and my wife & I live in the West Village in NYC. The CRCA Scholarship was an incredibly generous gift that meaningfully eased the significant financial burden of attending a costly university. It meant so much to my family and I to have that additional support and we were touched by the generosity and kindheartedness of the CRCA members during the award dinners we were able to attend. It’s a wonderful community of individuals giving back to local students and I greatly admire your efforts. Best wishes to this year’s scholarship recipients!

Heather Volkamer, 2005 DePaul University - Thank you Chicago Roofing Contractors Association for all your support over the years.   I recently accepted a new position as an Emergency Medicine physician at Medstar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC.  This hospital is a level 1 trauma center and one of the Georgetown teaching hospitals.  I look forward to a new challenge and appreciate all that your association has done to get me to where I am today.

To learn more about this year's event check out the event program, or take a look at the event photo album!