The Firemen\u2019s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) recently awarded the 2017 FASNY Gerard J. Buckenmeyer Volunteer Scholarship to Jessica Jones of Owego, N.Y. Jessica received a certificate and scholarship of $1,500 for her volunteer service in the community from FASNY President Kenneth Pienkowski at Owego Free Academy\u2019s awards and scholarships night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI come from a family with over 300 years of experience in the fire department,\u201d said Jones. \u201cI can honestly say it was my destiny to become a first responder. Of all the scholarships I applied to, this one meant the most to me because volunteers don\u2019t always get recognition for the work that we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
After joining Owego Fire Department at 16, Jessica was awarded Rookie of the Year. She will be attending Elmira College in the fall, where she will study to one day be a trauma nurse. Jessica also became an EMT in May, following in the footsteps of her mother, father, and older sister.<\/p>\n
Jessica\u2019s dedication to her community is evident outside of the fire department as well. For the past three years, she has been a part of her church\u2019s youth group, receiving the Hands of Christ award for her passion for teaching younger children. She has also participated in the YES LEADS program, a unique youth leadership program focusing on substance abuse prevention. Jessica works to educate young people and act as a positive role model.<\/p>\n
Jessica is one of 20 students chosen for this scholarship. <\/p>\n
She stated, \u201cI poured my heart and soul into my scholarship essay and tried to show everybody who I am and what I do. It means so much to be recognized at the state level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scholarships are awarded on the basis of an applicant\u2019s volunteer service to his or her community, such as serving with a local fire department, scouting, church, school, work with senior citizens, fire prevention, and other projects. Additional criteria include consistent demonstration of good character and completion of a written essay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Firemen\u2019s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) recently awarded the 2017 FASNY Gerard J. Buckenmeyer Volunteer Scholarship to Jessica Jones of Owego,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":58090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n