Scholarship Sponsor Q&A: New York Life Financial Empowerment Scholarship

New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States and one of the largest life insurers in the world.

Based in New York City, New York Life’s family of companies offers life insurance, disability income insurance, retirement income, investments, and long-term care insurance. At the heart of New York Life is a commitment to be there for its customers and its community—whether today or decades into the future.

As part of that commitment, New York Life believes in helping students learn how to make informed financial decisions from early on. The New York Life Financial Empowerment Scholarship game can help high schoolers take the first step toward financial confidence—juniors and seniors (class of 2025 and 2026) can qualify for a scholarship up to $20,000 by completing educational modules that teach financial basics, introduce them to important concepts across the world of finance and prepare them for a great financial future.

We spoke to New York Life’s Lisa Thomsen about this innovative new learning opportunity and scholarship award.

—

Scholarship America: What’s your role at New York Life, and how do you work with the scholarship program?

New York Life: My name is Lisa Thomsen. I am Head of Acquisition, Client, and Sponsorship Marketing at New York Life.

SA: How can students become eligible for the $10,000 and $20,000 levels of the New York Life Financial Empowerment Scholarship?

We were inspired to build a scholarship that speaks to who we are. So, we had to build something educational and inspiring, with a sprinkle of fun.

To be eligible for the New York Life Financial Empowerment Scholarship, applicants must complete gamified modules, powered by Zogo, that enhance financial skills. Completing 25 modules allows students to apply for a $10,000 scholarship, while 50 modules makes them eligible for a $20,000 scholarship. After completing the required modules, students can submit their application, including a personal essay on their goals and financial plans.

High school juniors and seniors from the high school classes of 2025 and 2026 can apply now through 4 p.m. ET on August 25, 2025.

SA: What can parents, teachers or advisors do to help students get started?

Sign them up! Parents: register your student to receive an access code so they can start playing the modules on Zogo. Then, encourage your kids to complete the application as soon as they finish the modules. So many applicants wait until the last minute and end up rushing through their essay. To develop a compelling essay, we encourage students to give themselves time to think, write, and edit. Parents can also help with essay ideas, editing and spell checking—just don’t write it for them!

If you are an educator, help spread the word. Please feel free to share this scholarship with your network.

SA: What can students learn through the New York Life Financial Empowerment Scholarship game?

This scholarship not only provides financial support but also equips students with essential financial skills that will benefit them throughout their lives. The game offers module-based lessons on budgeting, credit, saving, and financial goal setting to teach essential money management skills. (Also, since these kids are off to college soon, we of course had to throw in opportunities to learn about college funding.)

Another plus: even if your child isn’t old enough to be eligible for the scholarship, anyone who is at least 13 years of age can play the game on Zogo, which also offers players the opportunity to win rewards, such as gift cards.

SA: Why does New York Life feel that student financial literacy is such an important investment?

We feel that financial literacy for all ages is important. The younger you start, the better off you will be. There can be so many financial challenges for young people as they grow from funding college, to finding a job, to buying a house. If you can make better financial decisions early on, you’ll set yourself up to be better off financially for the rest of your life.

SA: How does this new scholarship program complement New York Life’s other community-building and youth-serving initiatives?

New York Life has always been a company that gives back. The New York Life Foundation started in 1979, but our philanthropic efforts go back beyond that. The Foundation has grant programs and programs to help youth deal with grief from the loss of a loved one. They have also fostered a culture of volunteerism in which there are multiple opportunities for employees to give back. New York Life even gives each employee a volunteer day to take time off to donate their time. Plus, every year we have a companywide giving campaign where employees host fundraising activities for a large number of charities or non-profits.

SA: How do you see your program evolving and developing in the coming years?

One thing that we hope is that we continually increase the number of students that sign up. This is the first year of the program, and we are excited to analyze the results and figure out how to continuously make it better for students. New York Life is a company that has been around for over 180 years. We like to say that we are “built to last.” So, we know that this program will also be built to last, and it’s exciting to see how it will grow.

SA: What advice would you give to applicants?

Take as many modules as possible, if you complete more than 50 you are eligible for both the $10,000 and $20,000 scholarship.

Also, make your essay unique to you. The judges want to know about your big dreams and what is inspiring you to chase them.