Home Personal Small Business Money Education Español  |  Contact Us    

Press Center

GE logo

Ed Rodriguez High School Minority Scholarship Awarded

GE’s corporate card business selects Linda Rico as first recipient

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- June 27, 2005 -- Corporate Payment Services (CPS), the corporate card unit of GE Consumer Finance, has established a minority scholarship in honor of Ed Rodriguez, Business Card Sales Account Executive, who passed away on January 11, 2005.

The recipient of this year's scholarship is Linda Rico, a student who has demonstrated outstanding academic, personal and community achievement. In this inaugural year of the scholarship, the business also offered a paid internship to Carla Suarez, runner up for the scholarship. June 20th, both young women began working for the corporate card Operations department.

The scholarship is to be awarded annually to an outstanding high school senior at East High School, Salt Lake City. Rodriguez attended East High School where he was an outstanding student athlete. He was an active member of the CPS Diversity Council, and was also a member of GE’s Hispanic Forum.

The scholarship is a $1,000 per semester award to a two or four-year college and includes a summer internship at CPS between high school and the recipient’s first semester of college. The business established this scholarship in partnership with the Salt Lake Education Foundation.

The high school administration, CPS Diversity Council and Human Resources team will lead the selection of a scholarship winner each year. “We are very excited to offer this scholarship in the community and believe that it will continue to foster and promote the kind of dedication, enthusiasm and inspiration which Ed brought to our business,” said HR leader Will Powley. “Ed led a life of inspiration and motivation to all who worked with him.”

Scholarship qualifications:

  • An outstanding minority graduating high school student at East High School.
  • Financial needs of the scholarship applicant will be considered.
  • Key selection criteria: Financial need, Academic (minimum of 3.0 Grade Point Average), Extracurricular involvement, Personal essay, two teacher recommendations.
  • Must be full-time college student.
About Corporate Payment Services
Corporate Payment Services, the commercial card unit of GE Consumer Finance, develops and markets corporate bank cards and e-settlement tools designed for small-, medium- and large-sized companies and organizations. Cards are issued by GE Capital Financial Inc. For more information, visit www.gebusinessmarketplace.com/int_vpayment.htm.

GE Consumer Finance, a unit of General Electric Company, with more than $150 billion in assets, is a leading provider of credit services to consumers, retailers and auto dealers in 47 countries around the world. GE Consumer Finance, based in Stamford, Conn. (USA), offers a range of financial products, including private label credit cards, personal loans, bank cards, auto loans and leases, mortgages, corporate travel and purchasing cards, debt consolidation and home equity loans and credit insurance. More information can be found online at www.geconsumerfinance.com.

GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work -- a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.ge.com.