The New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS) has awarded six students for the 2007 NYACS Scholarship Foundation scholarships totaling $4,500.

It’s the largest total awarded in the seven-year history of the program, thanks largely to a generous $2,500 contribution by the Retailers of New York (RONY) Workers Compensation Trust, a self-insurance program initiated by NYACS in 1997.

Ian Mikutel of Glens Falls, N.Y., won the $1,000 Emmy Seng Scholarship. An Information Technology major at Rochester Institute of Technology, Ian is the son of Gary Mikutel who works for Xtra Mart Convenience Stores. The scholarship honors the memory of the beloved wife of NYACS Chairman Emeritus Bob Seng.

The winner of the $1,000 RONY Trust Scholarship is Kerrie L. Leslie of Corry, Pa., a Mathematics/Economics major at Penn State University. Her father is employed by United Refining Co.

Allen Light of Westmoreland N.Y., and Anthony Yates of North Tonawanda, N.Y. are the recipients of the $750 RONY Trust Scholarships. Light is a Music Industry/Law major at SUNY Oneonta and his mother works for Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes. Yates is a Kwik Fill/Red Apple employee and an Early Childhood Education major at Buffalo State College.

Winning the $500 NYACS Scholarships are Christopher Castronovo of Hilton N.Y., a Communications major at Monroe Community College whose father Don works for Frito Lay, and Amanda Voorhis of Panama NY, a Biology major at Clarion University of Pennsylvania whose father works at the Kwik Fill in Mayville, Pa.

Scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis to deserving undergraduate students who have completed at least one semester at an accredited institution of higher learning. Employees of NYACS-member retail and supplier companies, as well as members of their immediate families, are eligible to apply. Applications for 2008 scholarships will be accepted beginning in January 2008.