Two students from Temple University’s Fox School of Business have been awarded merit scholarships by Aflac based upon their stellar performances during summer internships with the insurance company.

Junior Maria Blaszczyk finished No. 2 in the United States among collegiate interns within Aflac’s program. She has earned a $3,000 scholarship and a trip to Aflac’s corporate headquarters in Columbus, Ga., to meet with Aflac executives and to tour the Aflac campus.

Senior Elliot Astor, who finished No. 1 in the Northeast Region, earned a $2,000 scholarship.

The Elevate 2015 Aflac Intern contest, which is in its second year, awards scholarships to college-age interns who place among the best in sales and acquisitions. Other scholarship requirements include top job performance in marketing, team leadership, and dedication to teamwork, as well as displaying a positive attitude every day of their internships.

This year, Aflac awarded scholarships to eight college students from a pool of 365 students who interned for the company during Summer 2015: the overall top-3 interns throughout the company and the top intern at each of Aflac’s five U.S. regions.

“Maria and Elliot have exemplified what it means to be great interns with a Fortune 500 Company,” said Matthew O’Hanlon, District Coordinator of Aflac’s Philadelphia Region. “They possess tremendous leadership qualities, great work ethic, and strong entrepreneurial skills. I am elated that two students from Temple University finished within the top-eight among all collegiate interns with Aflac from across the country. This demonstrates why the Fox School of Business is such an elite business school, and it is with great pleasure that we honor these students. Congratulations to Maria and Elliot, and continued success.”

Blaszczyk, an International Business major, served as a voluntary benefits consultant within Aflac’s Philadelphia/Bucks County Region, in Trevose, Pa. Independently contracted with Aflac and licenses to sell their products and services in Pennsylvania, she met with business owners to explain the company’s voluntary benefits packages.

“In my internship, I was able to see the daily behind-the-scenes decisions that business owners have to make, all of which are critical to a company’s well-being, and I am honored to have received one of Aflac’s scholarships,” Blaszczyk said. “

Astor, a Marketing major, also worked as an associate within Aflac’s Philadelphia/Bucks County Region office. In that capacity, he helped manage interns and recruit new interns. The internship took Astor on the road, as he met with potential Aflac clients and their employees.

“The Aflac internship places you in a real-life business environment and allows you to obtain universal skills that I can employ wherever my career takes me,” Astor said. “I feel incredibly fortunate to have been awarded a scholarship from a company that is as successful and prominent in its industry as Aflac is.”