Spherion Temple Awards High School Graduate with Sandy Mazur Excellence in Leadership Scholarship

Local Franchisee Honors Sam Houston State University Student With $5,000 Scholarship Towards Higher Education

TEMPLE, Texas – With its largest gifts to date, the Spherion Staffing and Recruiting (Spherion) franchise community announced today that 2023 high school graduate Hannah DeGraaff is one of two winners of its annual Sandy Mazur Excellence in Leadership Scholarship. The $5,000 scholarship was created in honor of former Spherion President Sandy Mazur to recognize outstanding students who best embody the qualities of excellence, leadership and passion that Mazur exhibited daily throughout her distinguished 18-year career at Spherion. The scholarship’s goal is to help students further their education through college, technical or skilled training.

DeGraaff’s impressive involvement in the Temple community stems from her desire to seek out opportunities to pay it forward to others. She has honed her leadership and interpersonal skills through her time providing local blind citizens transportation and living assistance, competing with the Forensic Sciences Club to win the SkillsUSA Texas Championships competition, and working at the local HEB as a checkout clerk. DeGraaff graduated from Temple High School with her general associate's degree from Temple College as well in spring 2023 and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University.

“Hannah is an exemplary student and a dedicated community member. Our office is delighted to present her with this award and support her as she continues to seek opportunities to make the world a more positive place,” said Sol Melton, franchise owner of Spherion Temple. “Seeing younger generations get involved in giving back and having a genuine interest in bettering their communities is amazing. We look forward to seeing all Hannah accomplishes as she works on obtaining her degree from Sam Houston State University!”

The purpose of the scholarship is to support aspiring students of all ages seeking higher education who demonstrate the qualities that Mazur embodies, like DeGraaff. Mazur’s passion for making a difference in the lives of others serves as an example to the teams at hundreds of local Spherion offices nationwide and continues to inspire Spherion franchisees to fund this scholarship program. This past spring, at the Spherion National Meeting, franchisees went the extra mile by hosting an online and live auction fundraiser for the scholarship, which resulted in the group raising almost double the amounts it has raised in past years. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to scholarship recipients. 

The Spherion Scholarship Advisory Board, led by franchisees Beth DeLaney and Michael Chalmers, coordinates with Ohio-based nonprofit The Richland County Foundation to review hundreds of applicants and choose the finalists. From there, a group of franchise community representatives, including DeLaney, Chalmers, and Mazur, chooses the winners. With the names and locations removed, the group reviewed the applicants and selected DeGraaff as one of two 2024 scholarship recipients.

“I am honored to share that Hannah is one of the recipients of the fifth annual Sandy Mazur Scholarship. Her high school achievements are a testament to her hard work and determination to make a positive impact,” said Mazur. “This scholarship allows us to support our future leaders during their continued education, which is especially important in a year that has seen so many ups and downs around access to higher education. Congratulations again, Hannah! 

In addition to DeGraaff, Kimarra Turner was also honored with a $5,000 scholarship.

For more information on Spherion in Temple, visit spherion.com/temple.

For more information on the Sandy Mazur Excellence in Leadership Scholarship, visit spherion.com/scholarship. 

About Spherion

With more than 75 years of staffing and recruiting experience, Spherion stands out as a leader in the industry, leveraging the power of “local” to support its vast network of independent franchisees. True to its tagline, Let’s Get to Work, Spherion provides temporary, temp-to-hire, direct hire, and managed hiring services to more than 4,000 businesses nationwide across 200+ locations. With a 4.8/5 star Google review score and recognition as a Top 100 Staffing Company to Work for by World Staffing Awards, a Top Franchise by Franchise Business Review, and ranking #63 on Entrepreneur magazine’s 2024 Franchise 500 list, Spherion capably caters to the ever-changing demands of America’s workforce. Backed by the world’s most equitable and specialized talent company, Spherion provides superior staffing and recruiting solutions through its franchise model. 

For information about the Spherion franchising opportunity, visit spherion.com/franchise.

About the Richland County Foundation

The Richland County Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization, was established in 1945 as a way for individuals to pool and invest their gifts for the long-term good of Richland County (Ohio) and its residents.

The Foundation helps people in Richland County give back to their community by investing their gifts for charity wisely so that grants can be made to improve the quality of life for all the county’s citizens. Working together with donors, the Foundation meets important needs today and plans for a strong future.

For more information about the Richland County Foundation, please visit richlandcountyfoundation.org.