Commerce Bank Awards Scholarships

Commerce Bank recently announced the recipients of its annual American Dream Scholarship program, which awards $1,000 to local graduating seniors who both achieve academic excellence and serve the community.

In Queens County, Commerce Bank gave scholarships to:

• Phillip Chang, a Kew Gardens resident, who graduated from Stuyvesant H.S. Chang plans to attend Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Throughout high school, Chang was a member of the Presidential Scholar Honors Program and a New York University Lewis Rudin Scholar.

• Chantalle Hanna, a Glendale resident, who graduated from Marymount School. Hanna plans to attend Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, and major in behavioral science and neuroscience. Throughout high school, Hanna was a peer assistant leader and editor in chief of the school newspaper.

• Mena Hanna, a Ridgewood resident, who graduated from Grover Cleveland H.S. Hanna plans to attend Albany College of Pharmacy in Albany, New York and major in pharmacy. Throughout high school, Hanna was a volunteer with Columbia Community Outreach as well as his church's repair project, and co-organized his school's anti-defamation league project.

• Olivia Hu, a Little Neck resident, who graduated from Stuyvesant H.S. Hu plans to attend Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Throughout high school, Hu was actively involved with the policy debate team and Key Club and was treasurer of both the Spanish Honor Society, and tennis club.

• Olympia Ignatiadis, an Astoria resident, who graduated from Long Island City H.S. Ignatiadis plans to attend State University of New York at Binghamton in Binghamton, New York and major in law/criminal justice. Throughout high school, Ignatiadis was a peer mediator and editor in chief of the yearbook, and actively involved with student government and the Borough Student Advisory Council.

• Kimberly Kim, a Bayside resident, who graduated from Bayside H.S. Kim plans to attend Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and major in biological sciences. Throughout high school, Kim was a member of the girls' varsity golf team, a volunteer at the American Cancer Society -

Asian Initiatives, and a semifinalist in the New York City Science and Engineering Fair.

• Pengyuan Qiao, an Elmhurst resident, who graduated from Stuyvesant H.S. Qiao plans to attend Columbia University in New York City and major in pre-medicine.

• Brittany Quiles, a Maspeth resident, who graduated from Grover Cleveland H.S. Quiles plans to attend the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania and major in pre-medicine/biology. Throughout high school, Quiles was vice president of the Key Club and teacher's assistant for Professional Development, manager of the boys' varsity volleyball team and an honor roll student.

The American Dream Scholarships Program awarded scholarships to 225 community service-oriented high school seniors within the bank's market area of more than 470 branches. Commerce donated $225,000 in scholarship dollars this year. Nearly 7,000 students sought scholarships from the program.

A staunch commitment to active involvement in the local community is a vital element of the Commerce philosophy. Commerce Bank provides financial and other forms of support to educational, community, human service, arts, and health-related programs, many of which focus on improving the welfare of children and families.

Commerce Bank is a leading retailer of financial services with more than 470 convenient branches in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland and Florida. Operations of TD Banknorth and Commerce Bank will be combined under the brand name TD Commerce Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®. Today, TD Banknorth and Commerce Bank form one of the 20 largest commercial banking organizations in the United States, with more than $119 billion in assets, and provide customers with a full range of financial products and services at nearly 1,100 convenient locations from Maine to Florida. TD Banknorth, Commerce Bank and TD Commerce Bank are trade names of TD Bank, N.A.

For more information about Commerce, visit commerceonline.com or call 888-751- 9000.