FREE Co-Founders Awarded the Innovative Scholarship

Joliet, IL – Financial Research and Education through Experience announced today that the Alumni Association Board has selected to award Edon Shaqiri & Timothy Plett, co-founders of FREE, the Innovative Scholarship towards their trip to Las Vegas for the Investment Conference: The Money Show.

The Innovative Scholarship, sponsored by the Alumni Association Board is awarded each semester to students who wish to enhance their academic experience at the University of St. Francis. The purpose of the award is to encourage students to be innovative and expand their university experience beyond the classroom setting.

Shaqiri and Plett will meet and hear renowned financial gurus and learn their personal strategies for successfully navigating today's challenging market conditions. These experts will provide in-depth knowledge about the financial markets, top-performing stocks and sectors and specific ideas for profiting in the markets. Shaqiri and Plett will then bring back their insight to campus and host various events next year in which they will share their knowledge with the student body at large.

“We are grateful for the Board’s confidence in myself and Timothy and thank them for their support in awarding us the Innovative Scholarship”, said Edon Shaqiri, President of FREE.

Edon Shaqiri, President of FREE and a senior at USF is interning at First Community Bank of Joliet with focus in commercial lending. Together with Timothy Plett, VP of FREE who is also a senior at USF and interning with General Nutrition Centers in sales management, they have been instrumental in the success of their start-up, student-led organization.

“This opportunity is not only a great honor but also a great chance to promote the University through two students.  I would like to thank all who contributed to the scholarship fund and I would like to say that it is opportunities like these that have a long lasting effect on a college student’s career. St. Francis has contributed greatly to my experience and it is a chance like this that makes me truly proud to be a Saint!” said Timothy Plett.  

In naming Shaqiri and Plett as the winners of the award, the Alumni Association Board honored their commitment, hard-work and determination to FREE.

“It is so appropriate that a student club which started with the creative idea that “going beyond the classroom” in interactive visits with professionals be recognized for their innovative  work” according to Dr. Frank Wyrostek, Advisor for FREE.

They will be honored at the Twenty-Seventh Annual Student Honors and Awards Convocation on May 5, 2011.

Financial Research and Education through Experience seeks to serve all USF students and the community to develop opportunities for experiential learning that take us beyond the classroom setting. Our mission is to broaden the learning curriculum through extraordinary experiences by engaging each other and interacting more with faculty, USF alumnus, professionals in the business field and the community.