Western Division Awards $6500 in Scholarships to Local Students
Western Division is pleased to announce the 2023 Scholarship Award winners. Scholarships are awarded to high school seniors planning to further their education at a two-or-four year college or university.
The scholarships were awarded to students that exhibited excellence in four categories: GPA; community service; leadership roles and an essay question. This year’s winners received $1000 each, with one recipient awarded $500 due to their service to the community.

Daniel Peyser (Williamsville, NY) – Academic Award
High School: Canisius High School
College: University of South Carolina
Career: Political Science/Law

Eric Frys (Lancaster, NY) – Academic Award
High School: Lancaster High School
College: John Carroll University
Career: Finance

Katelyn Dena (North Tonawanda, NY) – Academic Award
High School: Niagara Wheatfield High School
College: SUNY Geneseo
Career: Business Administration

Luke Sutherland (North Tonawanda, NY) – Academic Award
High School: Niagara Wheatfield High School
College: Penn State University
Career: Mechanical Engineering

Mackenzie Renn (Depew, NY) – Academic Award
High School: Lancaster High School
College: University at Buffalo
Career: English

Mark Zeder (Lancaster, NY) – Academic Award
High School: Lancaster High School
College: SUNY Geneseo
Career: Psychology & Music

Paige Bessel (East Amherst, NY) – Community Service Award
High School: Williamsville North High School
College: University at Buffalo
Career: Psychology
________________________________We Have a Name!
***Rumble***
The time has come! We have chosen the winner of our ‘Name the Buffalo’ contest that we’ve been holding over the last several weeks, and we have to say it’s been quite the fun experience. We’ve loved reading all the entries and we admire how creative some of you are! We’re extremely grateful to everyone who participated in this contest.
Choosing the winning entry wasn’t easy, but we felt the name “Rumble – because he fights cancer“ submitted by Devon O’Brien, from Akron, NY, was perfect.
Thank you everyone for your participation and welcome Rumble to our membership.

For 80+ years Western Division has been a hometown credit union supporting our members and helping them achieve their financial goals. That’s why partnering with Roswell Park Cancer Institute made sense to help them achieve one of their goals through the Herd of Hope Program. (This is where our beautiful Blue Buffalo at our Williamsville branch location came from.)