Second prize winner returns to school from summer vacation with a $1,000 scholarship for making a difference in his community.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Citizens Bank today announced that Austin Faria of Riverside is a second prize winner of its annual TruFit Good Citizen Scholarship program. He receives a $1,000 scholarship to help supplement the cost of tuition for the fall semester at the University of Rhode Island. The scholarship is awarded in time to provide funding for the upcoming academic period as Faria returns to school from summer vacation.  

Started in 2011, Citizens Bank created the scholarship program as a way to recognize and reward students whose volunteer efforts have made a lasting impact in their communities. The winners were chosen based on the responsibility and leadership skills they have demonstrated through their community service. More than 5,000 high school seniors and college students applied for the scholarships. In addition to the $1,000 second prize scholarship awarded to Faria, one winner receives a grand prize scholarship of $5,000, four winners each receive $2,500 and 34 other winners each receive $1,000. 

“We want to congratulate Austin, who is using his talent and passion for volunteerism to help those in his community who need it most,” said Ned Handy, President, Citizens Bank and RBS Citizens, Rhode Island and Connecticut. “Community service is a part of our own culture, so we are excited to be able to celebrate the contributions of Austin and all the TruFit Scholarship winners, and to be able to help them cover some of their college expenses. As a private student lender committed to helping students finance their education, we are pleased to reward these students for supporting their communities.” 

As an Eagle Scout, Faria served three years as the Senior Patrol Leader and volunteered hundreds of hours of community service. At his high school, he co-founded the Townie Volunteer Corps and served as treasurer. The volunteer club hosted a pasta dinner this past spring to raise money to help fund the purchase of a wheelchair convertible van for a fellow student who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy. 

Faria and 39 other winners are featured in more detail on the Citizens Bank Facebook page. 

As part of its commitment to students and making education more affordable, Citizens Bank’s TruFit Student Loan is available with a fixed or variable rate and flexible repayment terms, giving students the choice to select the option that best fits their needs. There are three repayment choices: immediate, interest-only or deferred until six months after graduation. Borrowers receive an additional 0.50 percent interest rate reduction for automatic payments from any eligible Citizens Bank account or a 0.25 percent interest rate reduction for automatic payments from accounts at other banks. 

Citizens Bank also offers online tips and tools to help students prepare and save for college as well as find information on how to apply for financial aid and college loans. The site includes a financing calendar with important dates and deadlines for securing funding and a student loan calculator to help students determine how much they will need to borrow to pay for college and how much they will owe once they graduate. 

For more information on the TruFit Good Citizen Scholarship program and the TruFit Student Loan product, please visit http://www.citizensbank.com/trufitstudentloan/.

About Citizens Bank

Citizens Bank is a division of RBS Citizens, N.A., operating its seven-state branch network in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. It has 83 branches and 191 ATMs in Rhode Island. 

RBS Citizens, N.A., is a subsidiary of RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $130 billion commercial bank holding company. It is headquartered in Providence, R.I., and through its subsidiaries has more than 1,460 branches, approximately 3,800 ATMs and approximately 19,200 colleagues. Its two bank subsidiaries are RBS Citizens, N.A., and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. They operate a 12-state branch network under the Citizens Bank brand in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Charter One brand in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. RBSCFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in more than 30 states. RBSCFG is owned by RBS (the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc). RBSCFG’s website is citizensbank.com.  

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