George Cruz-Peralta, a Meijer team member at the Melrose Park, Ill. store, was recently awarded the $10,000 Fred Meijer scholarship to support his aspirations of studying mechanical engineering at Triton Community College this summer before heading to the University of Illinois at Chicago in the fall as a sophomore.
George balanced his job as a team member at Meijer with an active high school career as soccer captain and member of the National Honor Society while earning a 4.0 GPA. George also served his community, volunteering with the Great Chicago Food Depository, Relay for Life and St. Baldricks Foundation supporting childhood cancer patients. After college, George would like to be an aircraft technician and hopes to join the Air Force.
“George is a valuable worker, whose energy and outgoing personality is evident to his team members,” Meijer Co-Chairman Doug Meijer said. “We are thrilled that we can help support him as he pursues his goals in higher education.”
For the upcoming academic school year, Meijer distributed $473,000 in scholarships, furthering the education of 153 Meijer team members and their children. Of that amount, two recipients received the $10,000 Fred and Lena Meijer scholarships and 151 others received $3,000 scholarships.