AXA Equitable Announces 2011 AXA Achievement(sm) Scholarship Winners

NEW YORK, April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, in association with U.S. News & World Report, has announced AXA Achievement(sm) Scholarship winners for 2011. With the latest honorees receiving college funding, AXA Equitable has awarded, through the AXA Foundation, over $20 million in scholarships to more than 4,300 students since 2003.

As in previous years, 52 students – one from each state, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico – have been awarded college scholarships of $10,000.  Of those 52 winners, 10 students have been chosen as national winners and will receive an additional $15,000 scholarship award and a new laptop computer.

"Through AXA Achievement, we aim to provide college-bound seniors and their families a level of financial support that helps to make attending college a reality," said Mark Pearson, chairman and chief executive officer of AXA Equitable. "We're extremely proud that with this year's winners we carry on a tradition of recognizing some of the most dynamic young people in the country."

All of the scholarship recipients are graduating high school seniors who demonstrated ambition and drive, determination to set and reach goals and the ability to succeed in college.

The 10 national winners are:

• Yasmine Arrington, Benjamin Bannekar Academic High School, Washington, DC
• Raul Buelvas, Savannah Country Day School, Savannah, GA
• Riley Carney, Home Schooled, Denver, CO
• Holley Cunningham, Resurrection Catholic School, Pascagoula, MS
• Riley Ennis, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, McLean, VA
• Aishvarya Govil Gupta, Northwood High School, Irvine, CA
• Tess Michaels, Plano West Senior High School, Plano, TX
• Carol Lopez Muskett, Los Lunas High School, Los Lunas, NM
• Maxwell Shinn, Chaska High School, Chaska, MN
• Brandon Smith, Hillcrest High School, Draper, UT

In addition to the $670,000 in AXA Achievement(sm) Scholarships awarded annually, another component to the program is the AXA Achievement(sm) Community Scholarship, which awards up to an additional $750,000 in annual scholarships. Through AXA Achievement(sm), the company is one of the nation's largest corporate providers of scholarships — awarding more than $1.3 million a year — and a comprehensive resource for information to help students and parents with college planning.  

Winners were announced this week online at www.usnews.com.  The scholarship is administered by Scholarship Management Services®, a program of Scholarship America®, one of the nation's largest nonprofit private sector scholarship and educational support organizations.

About AXA Foundation

The AXA Foundation is the philanthropic arm of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of AXA Financial, one of the premier U.S. financial services organizations and a member of the global AXA Group, a leader in financial protection and wealth management. The Foundation directs the company's philanthropic and volunteer activities, working to improve the quality of life in communities across the country where AXA has a presence.  Since 2003, the AXA Foundation has awarded over $20 million in college scholarships in the United States through its multifaceted flagship program, AXA Achievement, which provides resources that help make college possible:  access and advice.  More than 4,300 students, known as AXA Achievers, have received scholarships.  For more information go to AXA Achievement's Facebook page or www.axa-achievement.com.

About AXA Equitable

In business since 1859, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (NY, NY) is a leading financial protection company and one of the nation's premier providers of life insurance, annuity, and financial products and services. The company's products and services are distributed to individuals and business owners through its retail distribution channel, AXA Advisors, LLC (NY, NY 212-314-4600) member FINRA, SIPC, and to the financial services market through its wholesale distribution channel, AXA Distributors, LLC. Find AXA Equitable on Facebook and Twitter or visit the company's multi-media newsroom The Source @ AXA Equitable.

AXA Equitable, a subsidiary of AXA Financial Inc., is part of the global AXA Group, a worldwide leader in financial protection strategies and wealth management.  "AXA Group" refers to AXA, a French holding company for an international group of insurance and financial services companies together with its direct and indirect consolidated subsidiaries. For more information, visit www.axa-equitable.com.

SOURCE AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company