NAPA, Ca (March 18, 2021) – Summer 2021 will mark the fifth year of Cooperages 1912’s scholarship donation to the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University. Cooperages 1912 has donated $10,000 per year for the past five years to the Wine Industry Scholars Program (WISP), which began in 2017. With a total donation amount of $50,000, Cooperages 1912 has provided scholarship funds for five Sonoma State University students.

Below are the four Cooperages 1912 WISP scholarship recipients to date. The fifth scholarship will be awarded Fall 2021.

• Atziry Rodriguez, graduated fall 2020
• Maricruz Oviedo, graduating class of 2021
• Gurkirat Sandhu, second year student
• Jennifer Lopez, second year student

To be eligible for the $10,000 WISP scholarships, students must be the first in their families to attend college and have family members who work in the wine industry. WISP scholars receive $2,500 in annual scholarships (renewable annually for four years) and benefit from targeted academic counseling and co-curricular program support.

“Cooperages 1912 is excited for the success of the WISP program and proud of the hard work and dedication of our scholarship recipients,” said Elizabeth Van Emst, general manager Cooperages 1912. “As the WISP scholarship recipients begin to graduate, I cannot wait to see the good they do in our community. Sonoma County has been good to us over the years and we believe it’s important to support the students who are the future of our community.”

In the four years since its establishment, WISP has become Sonoma State University’s largest and most successful scholarship program. There have been 87 scholarships awarded to date with a total of $684,000 in scholarship funds awarded. As a result of the scholarship and advising support, WISP Scholars boast retention, graduation, and GPA averages significantly higher than SSU’s general student body. 95% of WISP scholars persist in their studies and maintain an average GPA of 3.18.

This donation from Cooperages 1912 is part of an ongoing commitment to support wine education programs throughout the United States. Cooperages 1912 has partnered with programs at Cal Poly, Fresno State, UC Davis, Washington State University and University of Missouri. Cooperages 1912 has been donating to colleges and universities for the last 10 years, with donations totaling over half a million dollars.

Cooperages 1912 is a fourth-generation, family-owned company committed to crafting premium French, European and American oak barrels under the brands TW Boswell and World Cooperage. Over the past century, the Boswell family has crafted distinctive barrels that define the industry. The Cooperages 1912 team consults directly with winemakers to ensure an optimal pairing between wine and barrel.

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