Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chancellor Juan Salgado and CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today presented 25 Chicago Star Scholars with scholarships to go towards continued education at a four-year college or university. Once students graduate from City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) with an associate degree, they will receive a two-year, $5,000 scholarship.

“Chicago Star Scholars work hard to pursue a college education and work towards a great career and future,” said Mayor Emanuel. “I commend CME Group for recognizing the potential of our hardworking students and creating a path to gainful employment.”

For the 2nd year, CME Group selected 25 students to receive scholarships that will support them in furthering their college career with a bachelor’s degree in math, computer science, finance or economics at one of Star Partner colleges and universities in the fall.

“We are very pleased to partner with Mayor Emanuel to support for these talented Chicago Public Schools students pursuing higher education in our city,” said CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy. “We believe that investing in the students of today will help to strengthen and advance the global economy – and that of Chicago – in the future.”

To ensure more students from all economic backgrounds can access a viable pathway to higher education, Mayor Emanuel created the Star Scholarship in 2014 to reward hard-working Chicago Public Schools graduates with an opportunity to pursue a degree or certificate at City Colleges at no cost. Now in its third year, the Chicago Star Scholarship program at CCC is helping more than 3,000 Chicago Public School (CPS) graduates attend college tuition-free. Star Scholars are diverse, representing more than 75 Chicago zip codes and more than 200 CPS high schools. Star Scholars have shown strong retention, suggesting that students enrolled in this program are highly likely to persist in their coursework toward a degree. I want to thank CME Group for supporting our Star Scholars' pursuit of higher education, and helping us to develop the next generation of Chicago leaders," said Chancellor Juan Salgado.

The Star Scholars this year receiving the scholarship were selected from a pool of 100 qualified candidates. A select number of scholars from last year’s CME class will also be offered an internship at CME Group member clearing firms this summer.

To be eligible for the CME Group Award for Star Scholars Achievement, students must be graduating this May with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above and a major in math, computer science/information technology, finance or economics.

CME Group joined the Star Scholars movement in 2017 after a long partnership with the City of Chicago on initiatives designed to help make college more affordable and attainable for CPS graduates. In 1986, CME Group and the City of Chicago launched the CME Group Mayoral Award for Student Achievement, which has awarded more than $2 million to thousands of high-achieving CPS students in pursuit of college degrees.

For more information on the Chicago Star Scholarship at City Colleges of Chicago, visit www.ccc.edu/starscholarship.