NAIFA is pleased to announce the 2025 recipients of the Foundation for Financial Service Professionals’ Paul S. Mills Scholarships and the inaugural Eileen J. Prus and Edmund O. Ciske Jr.-designated Paul S. Mills Scholarship. This annual program provides need-based scholarships to students pursuing degrees in financial service-related fields. Each of the 12 recipients receives a $1,000 scholarship.

“The Foundation for Financial Service Professionals has a rich history of encouraging and providing meaningful support for budding professionals in our industry,” said NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE. “NAIFA is proud to carry this tradition forward following the NAIFA-FSP merger. It is an important part of our strategy to grow the profession by nurturing the next generation of insurance and financial professionals.”

The 2025 recipients are:

• Renz Lijah Almonte of Southern New Hampshire University
• Laken Colley of the University of Arkansas
• Ethan Divelbliss of the University of Maryland Global Campus
• Allyssa Jeanty of the University of Albany
• Chloe Cadiz Lopez of Elizabethtown College
• Sandra Mejia of the University of Maryland
• Farhan Miahje of Vanderbilt University
• Lawrence Niemann of the Saint Louis University School of Law
• Madeleine Powell of the University of Oregon
• Thomas Rossini of the University of Minnesota Duluth
• Michael Thompson of the University of Washington - Tacoma
• Israa Wadif of the University of Houston

Rossini was the highest-scoring applicant and is thereby the recipient of the inaugural Eileen J. Prus and Edmund O. Ciske Jr.-designated Paul S. Mills Scholarship. This special scholarship designation was established in 2025 through a generous gift from the estate of Eileen J. Prus, CLU, RHU, a dedicated, longtime member of the Society of Financial Service Professionals. Her enduring legacy will support the highest-scoring applicant each year.

“This year’s scholarship recipients are among the reasons our industry has a very bright future,” said Tom Cothron, LUTCF, FSCP, President of the Foundation for Financial Service Professionals. “They are dedicated students who can look forward to rewarding careers serving Americans’ financial service needs. On behalf of the Foundation Trustees, I would like to congratulate the 2025 recipients and wish them the best in their studies and future endeavors.”

One of this year’s recipients, Lawrence V. Edward “Ted” Niemann III, also competed in the Career Exploration Competition on the Financial Connextion Cruise of which NAIFA was a sponsor earlier this year. “I am elated that NAIFA continues to recognize my hard work and dedication to being the best future financial advisor and advocate I can be!” Niemann said. This fall, he will be a first-year law student at the Saint Louis University School of Law.

Established in 1984, the scholarship program honors the late Paul Mills, CLU, the second executive vice president of the Society of FSP. Since its inception, the program has awarded more than $389,000 in scholarships. Applications for the 2026 Paul S. Mills Scholarships will be available on the Foundation website after February 1, 2026.