Two Major Gifts Provide EFSC Students Additional Scholarships

Students at Eastern Florida State College will have more scholarship opportunities thanks to major gifts from the Florida College System Foundation and Cape Design Engineering Co.

The FCS Foundation donated nearly $34,000 and Cape Design Engineering gave $25,000 on Wednesday to the Eastern Florida State College Foundation that provides scholarship funds.

“These gifts will help students pursue their education and start excellent careers, and we’re extremely grateful to both the FCS Foundation and Cape Design Engineering for their support and generosity,” said college President Dr. Jim Richey.

The Florida College System Foundation money will be used in several ways:

• Nearly $16,000 is for the Helios Education Foundation First Generation Scholars award to students for tuition, books and fees.
• Some $12,400 is for the Florida Blue Nursing and Allied Health Scholarship for students in healthcare fields.
• Nearly $5,200 is for the Bank of America Dream Makers Scholarship for help with tuition, books, fees, transportation and childcare.

The FCS Foundation was established in 1994 and has been providing student scholarships to Florida's 28 state colleges since 1999.

The $25,000 donation from Cape Design Engineering Co. (CDE) will provide scholarships to students at EFSC’s new Health Sciences Institute on the Melbourne campus.

The endowment will be invested by the EFSC Foundation with the earnings used for scholarships in perpetuity.

To be eligible, students must be a Florida resident, enrolled full time in their program of study at the EFSC Health Sciences Institute and maintain a 3.5 GPA.

CDE founders Lutfi and Peggy Mized, Kannan Rengarajan, and Rama Kannan established the company 20 years ago to provide engineering, design, building and construction services.

The company offers high quality services to its clients in the educational, healthcare, commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the federal government and Department of Defense.

CDE has worked with the college since 1999, helping it save millions of dollars in energy costs and enhancing the performance of its equipment and facilities.

One of its most prestigious projects for Eastern Florida was the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design of the new Health Sciences Institute, which opened in January.

Said company officials of the endowment: “CDE realizes the impact this new state-of-the-art teaching facility will make on the community and is proud to have again helped Eastern Florida State College, a true cornerstone of Brevard County, provide a place to train and produce the next generation of health care professionals.

“CDE’s vision is aligned with Eastern Florida State College — we believe in the power of community and education. We view the establishment of this scholarship as a duty to help the very community we live in and could not be prouder to do so.

“It is our hope and desire this scholarship will not only help Eastern Florida promote higher education but will also help to raise up the next Titans of our community.”

For more information about the EFSC Foundation and to donate, visit easternflorida.edu/foundation

To learn more about the Florida College System Foundation, visit floridacollegesystem.com/foundation

More information about Cape Design Engineering, can be found at www.cdeco.com