Allegiant Private Advisors Blog Allegiant Awards 2021 Scholarship to Sophia Belsito

Scholarship Program Designed to Heighten Awareness of Personal Fiscal Responsibility Giving back to the community in many ways is something we value as a firm and individuals. It's something our local Sarasota-based team of advisors and client service professionals looks forward to continuing under the Mariner Wealth Advisors name come August 2021. Before we formally become part of the Mariner Wealth Advisors family, it is our great privilege to award Allegiant's 24th annual scholarship.This year's recipient of our firm's $2,500 scholarship is Sophia Belsito, granddaughter of an Allegiant client.A 2021 graduate of Manatee High School, Sophia will be attending the University of South Florida in Tampa this fall. Her application was selected as most deserving based on his academic record including transcript records and curriculum difficulty, community service, extracurricular activities, work experience, and an original essay about financial independence.As part of the application process, Sophia's essay explored the question "What is personal financial responsibility?" Here is an excerpt of what she shared about gaining an appreciation for financial responsibility in while working in retail, babysitting, and learning how to budget during her final years as a high school student:"I have learned so much from being in the work force and paying for my own things over the past two years, and feel as though without these valuable lessons, I would not be ready for college financially or mentally. My journey to becoming financially responsible and secure is something that truly showed me what it means to be those things. I believe personal financial responsibility is when you have the knowledge that some things are more important than others, and you can understand that saving givens you more satisfaction overall, compared to useless spending which only makes you happy in the moment."We're proud to recognize Sophia's hard work, growing respect for money management, academic achievements, and impact she's made through extracurricular activities with the Mam'selles Service Club, Junior Leadership Manatee and Student Council, including tutoring in a special needs class and establishing a Secret Santa program for homeless students.Please join us in wishing Sophia, all scholarship applicants, and 2021 graduates the greatest of happiness and success as they move forward to create a future focused on their own financial independence. We have a feeling she already also recognizes the significance of also giving back.