CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Since its founding in 1948, the Fifth Third Foundation has made education programs a key priority. In 2005, Fifth Third established its Scholarship Program to award one-time, $2,500 scholarships annually to children of Fifth Third employees for study at a college or university. This year's scholarships total $62,500. More than 450 students have merited scholarships since 2005.

Chosen and administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corp., the Fifth Third Scholarship Program recognizes the academic achievements of the following students, listed with their employee parent or parents and their work location:

• Addison E. Anderson, child of Shanna Anderson, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Gwendolyn A. Armstrong, child of David Armstrong, Columbus, Ohio.
• Charles D. Bender, child of David Bender, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Prateek M. Bhandari*, child of Vijaya Bhandari, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Ethan L. Davey, child of Julie Davey, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Rick Fitzpatrick*, child of Shigemi Fitzpatrick, Lexington, Kentucky.
• Srikar S. Gandikota*, child of Vinod Gandikota, Atlanta, Georgia.
• Hailey L. Hartman, child of Bethany Hartman, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Gavin J. Jensen, child of Cynthia Jensen, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Natalie Z. Juszczyk, child of Aneta Juszczyk, Rosemont, Illinois.
• Lucy A. Konrad, child of Robert Konrad, Montgomery, Ohio.
• Hanna L. Kovacevic, child of Amra Kovacevic, Kentwood, Michigan.
• Brenna A. Lemoine, child of Amalie Lemoine, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Vivian W. Li, child of Lei Li, Solon, Ohio.
• Revanth Manchineella, child of Sreedevi Chirumamilla, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Casey J. Mankowski, child of Cynthia Mankowski, Tampa, Florida.
• Catherine A. McGuire, child of Timothy McGuire, Cleveland, Ohio.
• Zachary Reiffer, child of Stephen Reiffer, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Abraham T. Rempe, child of Thomas Rempe, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Lauren J. Shen*, child of Lixin Shen, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Hayden J. Stokes*, child of Miranda Stokes, Denver, Colorado.
• Danica Sun, child of Jinghua Cao, Rosemont, Illinois.
• Leo M. Tombragel, child of Greg Tombragel, Madisonville, Ohio.
• Jadon M. Turner, child of Kyle Greivenkamp, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Emilie M. Young, child of Chris and Jenniffer Young, Independence, Kentucky.

"Since 2005, the Fifth Third Foundation has enthusiastically supported the academic goals of the children of Fifth Third employees through this scholarship," said Heidi Jark, senior vice president and managing director of the Foundation Office at Fifth Third Bank, "We applaud these deserving students and are proud to support them as they embark upon this next chapter in higher education."

The National Merit Scholarship Corp. is an independent nonprofit organization. The National Merit Scholarship Program was designed to identify and honor exceptionally able high school students, and to provide a system of services for corporations, foundations and other organizations that wish to sponsor college undergraduate scholarships to students who interest them. All aspects of the selection of winners and the administration of their awards are handled by the NMSC.

Established in 1948, the Fifth Third Foundation was the first charitable foundation created by a financial institution. The Foundation supports worthy causes in the areas of health and human services, education, community development and the arts in the states where Fifth Third Bank operates.

*National Merit Scholarship finalist