STCC veteran students awarded textbook scholarships

by Jim Danko

Springfield, MA (12/23/2021) — Two veterans attending Springfield Technical Community College received early holiday gifts in the form of scholarships to help cover textbooks.

The Better Business Bureau serving Central and Western Massachusetts and Northeastern Connecticut awarded $500 scholarships to Allan Cangelosi of West Springfield and Paetron Sumlin of Springfield.

Akeilee Murchison, veteran academic counselor at STCC, congratulated them. "I'm thrilled that two of our veteran students received this award," she said. "Not many veterans in the state received the scholarship. I'm proud of Allan and Paetron."

The 2021 Veterans & Service Member Textbook Scholarship Program awards $500 to a veteran or service Member student attending a university or college within BBB's service area of Central and Western Mass and Northeast Connecticut. Students may get financial aid but those funds don't always cover textbooks. This textbook scholarship will help cover those extra costs.

"This will help me start the semester without being behind," said Cangelosi, who is pursuing a computer information technologies degree (focusing on programming). He works at the help desk in the STCC Library.

Cangelosi previously earned a certificate in optics and photonics. He also obtained a degree in engineering and science transfer. "This is my third program at STCC," he said.

Cangelosi served in the Air Force from 2005 until 2013. He was medically retired after injuring his back. After leaving the military, he chose STCC for physics and planned to transfer. Cangelosi enrolled at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst for applied mathematics, but felt the program was not the right fit.

He returned to STCC to get a certificate in optics and photonics, and then decided to go for a degree in programming.

Cangelosi enjoys STCC for its variety of programs. He said he changed programs because of his mobility issues. He sees work as a programmer easier on him physically than other fields.

Cangelosi said STCC is a good institution for veterans and thanked Akeilee Murchison for her support and guidance.

"Akeilee is great and helps veterans at STCC with questions. She knows what veterans have to deal with," he said. "If you're a veteran, I recommend contacting the office for support. They're good at getting back to you and helping."

The second veteran student to receive the scholarship, Paetron Sumlin, served in the Marines from 2015 to 2019. After his discharge, Sumlin lived in Israel for a year working as a private security contractor. He moved back to the United States and lived in Atlanta. Sumlin purchased camera equipment to pursue his dream in film.

He left Atlanta for Springfield where he has family. Sumlin enrolled at STCC in the digital media production technology program in the fall 2021. He hopes the program will sharpen his skills as a filmmaker and move him closer to his dream.

"I really want to make movies," he said. "I would love to do what you would call drama. But I want to make spiritually uplifting films. You're watching the film and you get to laugh and cry and learn something."

Sumlin said STCC has offered much support to him as a veteran.

"It's great. I was impressed with how everything was when I got here. This is the first school I went to that has a veterans liaison," Sumlin said. "STCC has been able to help meet my needs and has helped me find resources. I only knew about the Better Business Bureau scholarship because of (veteran academic counselor) Akeilee Murchison. I'm thankful for that."

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