NEW BERLIN – Since 1992, The Preferred Mutual Foundation, the corporate-giving arm of Preferred Mutual Insurance Company (“Preferred Mutual”), has awarded academic scholarships to local high school seniors.

The Preferred Mutual Foundation Scholarship is awarded to college-bound high school seniors that reside in Otsego, Delaware, or Chenango, New York counties and is evaluated on academic merit and responsibility to their communities. 

We are pleased to announce the first-place winner of the 2021 Preferred Mutual Foundation Scholarship is Diego Aguirre, of Delaware Academy. We congratulate his dedication to his community and to the pursuit of knowledge. Aguirre will receive $3,000 each year for four years. He will be attending Cornell University in the fall, where he will major in Mechanical Engineering. Emma Harby is the second-place winner of the 2021 Preferred Mutual Foundation Scholarship and will receive $1,500 each year for four years. She will be attending Syracuse University with a dual major in Marketing & Broadcast and Digital Journalism. We wish to also congratulate her on her commitment to academics, as well as her active involvement within her community.

The Irad and Jan Ingraham / James W. Honeywell Memorial Scholarship is awarded to Unadilla Valley Central School seniors that have demonstrated a commitment to community service while upholding a strong academic standing. Each scholarship winner may use their award toward tuition, room and board, or other college-related expenses.  

Devon Fairchild is the first-place winner of the 2021 Irad and Jan Ingraham / James W. Honeywell Memorial Scholarship. Fairchild will be awarded $1,500 each year for four years and will be majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the fall. Paige Catena has been named as the second-place winner and will be awarded $1,000 each year for four years. Catena will be attending the University of Colorado Boulder in the fall. Both winners have exemplified the true purpose of the scholarship’s mission.

In addition to these annual scholarships, we are also awarding a one-time $1,250 scholarship to Greene Central High School senior, Quintin Pezzino, in honor of Preferred Mutual’s 125 Anniversary. Pezzino will be attending Cornell University in the fall, majoring in Plant Science.

-From Preferred Mutual