NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AXA, a financial protection and retirement industry leader, announced today over 370 winners of the AXA AchievementSM Scholarship. Winners – known as AXA Achievers – are ambitious and talented students that have demonstrated exemplary leadership skills and a commitment to making a positive contribution to the world. Through their outstanding achievements, these students are driving awareness and innovation in such areas as anti-bullying, hunger, teen suicide, health, and financial literacy.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the AXA AchievementSM program, which has provided over $25 million in scholarships to more than 6,000 students since the program’s inception in 2003. Through the AXA AchievementSM Scholarship, more than 370 students representing all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the local communities where AXA operates will receive a one-time scholarship in the amount of $25,000, $10,000, or $2,500. Additionally, every scholarship recipient’s high school will receive a grant for $1,000 to be used for educational development. The 2017 award program will give out more than $1.8 million to support college education and professional development.
“We are proud to recognize this year’s AXA Achievers and celebrate their extraordinary accomplishments,” said Mark Pearson, Chairman and CEO of AXA US. “Our winners are remarkable young people whose hard work, dedication to their communities and commitment to innovation demonstrate their passion to facilitate change on a global scale. We are honored to help this next generation of leaders pursue their dreams.”
The 2017 National scholarship winners are:
Health Innovations & Technology
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Aneesh Agarwal – Cary, NC
Aneesh created Health Smart Tech (HST), a unique social startup that provides comprehensive comparisons of medical testing costs in multiple facilities. This allows accessibility of information, enabling the uninsured to make educated financial and healthcare decisions.
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Anurudh Ganesan – Clarksburg, MD
Recognizing that access to refrigeration and electricity is not always available in developing areas around the world, Anurudh designed and developed a 'No Ice, No Electric' active refrigeration vaccine transportation system. This patent-pending system will assist global last-leg vaccine transportation by maintaining viable vaccines in a safe and effective temperature range in order to save lives.
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Sarah Moelis – Hewlett, NY
Sarah created an iPad computer game “The Magic Arrows” to assist children with neuro-developmental disabilities by turning their routines into a game that is fun and reduces anxiety. The game is available for purchase via magicarrows.net with 100% of proceeds benefiting the “Fly With Me Fund,” a foundation that provides children affected by Fragile X Syndrome with access to testing and treatment options.
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Surabhi Mundada – Olympia, WA
To help overcome the obstacles experienced by neurological patients with tremors and loss of hand control experience, Surabhi developed an innovative wearable glove and armband called “MyHealth.” The glove assists with closing the hand, improves grip, and detects, monitors, and controls tremors.
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Shalin Shah – Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Shalin created a free digital app called “Voice,” which assists visually impaired individuals by taking a photo of an unfamiliar object and reading the text of that object aloud. In addition to creating the app, Shalin spends time with nonprofit organizations, senior citizen facilities and institutes for the blind promoting the app and teaching individuals how it is used.
Financial Literacy
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Antonio Ferris – Meza, AZ
Antonio created a 'Cost of Credit Calculator' app to mitigate credit card debt by quickly calculating the total interest costs incurred when using a credit card to make a purchase. This helpful tool is available via PC, Android and Apple smartphones in 194 countries, helping people make informed financial decisions.
Community Outreach
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Julie Averbach – Short Hills, NJ
Julie wrote, edited, and published “Adventures From My World” (AFMW), a comic book to support siblings of individuals with special needs. AFMW helps siblings express their emotions, and more than 8000 copies are currently being distributed in 18 US states and 4 foreign countries.
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Britain Bennett – Sandusky, OH
Britain’s passion is helping young people overcome and prevent bullying. She developed a strategy called 'TBH' which stands for “Talk to someone, Block harmful words from your head and heart, Help others,” to help teens think before they act in an unkind manner towards others. For this work she received a proclamation for a county day in which parents are reminded to oversee their child's social media use to prevent bullying.
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Janay Jumping Eagle – Kyle, SD
After losing her 12 year old cousin to suicide and recognizing that it overwhelmingly affects young people living on reservations, Janay decided to take action. Through trainings, positive events, and community activism, Janay has helped many peers find help and forgo suicide on her tribal reservation. Her outreach works have been profiled on MTV and she was invited to the White House Tribal Nations Conference in 2015.
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James Mathew - Hinsdale, IL
James created and marketed a smart phone application called “Got Food?” that has a database of over 1,600 food pantries and soup kitchens in 12 states, allowing individuals to find the closest food resource when they are assisting families in need.
AXA also offers financial education services to provide comprehensive resources for students and parents planning for college For more information on AXA Achievement, including a full list of our $10,000 and $2,500 winners, visit the AXA Foundation website. Find AXA on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
About AXA Foundation
The AXA Foundation directs the company's philanthropic and volunteer activities, working to improve the quality of life in communities across the United States where AXA has a presence. The AXA Foundation’s multifaceted signature program, AXA AchievementSM, supports the company’s strong commitment to Corporate Responsibility and AXA Group’s flagship theme of “Risk Research and Education,” by providing America’s youth with access and advice to help them succeed in college and beyond. Since its inception, AXA Achievement has awarded over $25 million in college scholarships to more than 6,000 students, known as AXA Achievers.
For more information go to www.axa-achievement.com or AXA's Facebook page.
About AXA
“AXA” is a brand name of AXA Equitable Financial Services, LLC and its family of companies, including AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (NY,NY), MONY Life Insurance Company of America (AZ stock company, administrative office: Jersey City, NJ), AXA Advisors, LLC, and AXA Distributors, LLC. In business since 1859, AXA is a leading financial protection company and one of the nation’s premier providers of life insurance, annuity, employee benefits and financial products and services distributed to individuals and business owners through its retail distribution channel, AXA Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) and to the financial services market through its wholesale distribution channel, AXA Distributors, LLC.
AXA S.A. is a Paris-headquartered holding company for a group of international insurance and financial services companies, including AXA Equitable Financial Services, LLC companies. AXA S.A. is a worldwide leader in financial protection strategies and wealth management with 102 million clients in 56 countries as of December 31, 2013.
The obligations of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company and MONY Life Insurance Company of America are backed solely by their claims-paying ability.
