CME Group Foundation Invests $360K in First-Generation Illinois Scholars

• More than $4.9 million in scholarships granted since 2019

CHICAGO, Aug. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group Foundation announced today it has awarded $360,000 in scholarships to 15 low-income, first-generation Illinois college students who are majoring in finance, technology and related fields. To honor this year's recipients, CME Group executives will host a Day of Recognition and Market Education.

At the event, students will learn more about internship and career opportunities available at CME Group and in the financial services industry. Since its launch in 2019, the program has awarded more than $4.9 million in scholarships to 138 students at 13 partner colleges and universities in the United States.

"Year after year, students show us how they can drive the future of finance and technology, and the CME Group Foundation scholarship is our commitment to help them get there," said Terry Duffy, CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are honored to invest in these students and the careers they are building throughout our industry."

"The CME Group Foundation scholarship helped me redefine my path," said Melise Sever, a junior computer science major at Stevens Institute of Technology who is entering her second year in the CME Group Foundation Scholars Program. "This scholarship didn't just ease a financial burden; it eased the burden on my family and I'm endlessly grateful that it made it possible for me to attend college and finally live in a dorm, rather than commute three hours a day to save money. More than financial relief, this scholarship gave me the opportunity to dream beyond survival—to imagine a future where my potential, not my debt, defines me."

This year's recipients of the CME Group Foundation Scholarship include:

• Brandon Alvarez, Stevens Institute of Technology
• Aracely Candelaria, Stevens Institute of Technology
• Brenda Castro-Macias, Loyola University Chicago
• Tiara Davis, Illinois Institute of Technology
• Christian Engida, DePaul University
• Eman Hussain, University of Illinois Chicago
• Khizer Khan, DePaul University
• Shynecka Manderson, University of Illinois Chicago
• Jason Mascarenhas, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Joaquin Morales, Loyola University Chicago
• Martyna Piorek, Loyola University Chicago
• Jozef Progri, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Disha Rana, Stevens Institute of Technology
• Piotr Wawrzyniak, DePaul University
• Makayla Young, University of Illinois Chicago

Scholarship partner colleges and universities are:

• Chicago State University
• City Colleges of Chicago
• DePaul University
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Loyola University Chicago
• National Louis University
• Northern Illinois University
• Roosevelt University
• Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
• St. Xavier University
• Stevens Institute of Technology
• University of Illinois Chicago
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

For more information on CME Group Foundation scholarships, visit www.cmegroupfoundation.org. 

About CME Group Foundation

CME Group Foundation helps today's students keep pace with dramatically evolving technology, creating a workforce for the future that is equipped with the skills to meet tomorrow's global challenges. By bringing together the brightest minds in education to prepare students for kindergarten, provide robust opportunities in computer science, and support them with college and career success, we are sparking system-wide change that benefits all students, from cradle to career, with a focus on those who are typically underrepresented in the STEM fields. They will shape the future of the world's most important industries, including our own, so we give them the tools they need to achieve their full potential.

About CME Group

As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, energy, agricultural products and metals.  The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform.  In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.  COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

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