County Student Wins

Nationwide/NACo Scholarship

Zamir Kanji, son of Arif Kanji (who serves as the Snohomish County Investment Officer in the Treasurer's office) and Meena Kanji (who works in the Prosecuting Attorney's office), was awarded a $2,000 scholarship at a ceremony with the County Council on Monday, June 11th.

Nationwide Retirement Services and the National Association of Counties (NACo) annually offer college scholarships to graduating high school seniors who have a parent or grandparent enrolled in the NACo deferred compensation program. This is the eighth year in a row that Nationwide and NACo have teamed up to encourage high-school seniors to think about retirement.

"Each year only four high-school seniors in the country win one of these scholarships," said Councilmember Dave Gossett. "I congratulate Zamir and his parents and family on this accomplishment and wish him continued success."

The application included a written essay on the importance of public sector employees starting early to save for retirement. The goal of the program is to encourage students who haven't even started full-time work to think about retirement. The program is set to get the students thinking about the financial impact of their decisions about college and their career and realize that it is never too soon to start thinking about saving for their future.

To be eligible, applicants must be graduating high school seniors who are legal U.S. residents, their parent or grandparent must be enrolled in and contributing to the NACo 457 Deferred Compensation Program, and the student must enroll in a full-time undergraduate course of study no later than the fall term of the 2012-2013 school year at an accredited two- or four-year college. Scholarships are available for one year and are non-renewable.

Zamir is a graduating senior at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo who plans to pursue a four-year degree in Management Information Systems at Washington State University this fall. Born in Austin, Texas, Zamir moved to Puget Sound two years later in 1996. He is an active member of the school band and a community volunteer at Providence Hospital.

"For nine years I was a member of the NACo Deferred Compensation Advisory Committee working with NACo and Nationwide on promoting the importance of county employees saving for retirement," said Gossett. "I'm very excited to have the son of Snohomish County employees wining this award."

NACO began its scholarship program in 1999 when it presented six high school seniors with $500 awards each to be used toward their post-secondary educations. Since 2004, NACo has presented twelve high school seniors with $1000 awards each to be used toward their post-secondary educations.

The NACo/Nationwide Scholarship is just one of the services arising out of a 32-year relationship between Nationwide and the NACo. As provider of the NACo Deferred Compensation Program, Nationwide regularly reports to the NACo Deferred Compensation Advisory Committee on industry trends, updates statistics on the program and provides ongoing education on retirement issues. NACo receives from Nationwide payment for NACo's endorsement and use of its name and logo in connection with the NACo Deferred Compensation Program. These funds are used by NACo to enhance programs and services for the benefit of its members while keeping dues low.

"It's great that Nationwide and NACo will be helping Zamir achieve his educational and career goals," said Gossett. "He's an outstanding young man."