Emerald Financial Resources, a general agency of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance has unveiled a new scholarship program for local multicultural college students from Central New Jersey.

According to the company, students of African-American/Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, or Hispanic descent who reside in Central New Jersey can apply for one of three $5,000 college scholarships. The applicants must meet certain academic criteria, such as having concentrations in fields of business, economics, finance, financial planning, management, marketing or sales.

The company said that to be eligible for this program, applicants must be of African American/Black, Asian/Pacific Islander or Hispanic decent; be a US citizen or legal permanent resident with a permanent resident card or passport stamped I-551; have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; and have plans to attend FULL-TIME, a degree-seeking program at a US accredited institution.

In addition, the applicants must be entering their sophomore, junior, senior or 5th year senior year at a four-year university or be a community college student; reside or plan to attend an institution in areas including Atlanta, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Central New Jersey; Chicago, Miami, or San Antonio.

Michael Vesuvio, president of Emerald Financial Resources, said: We’ve always been committed to attracting talented professionals to the field of financial services, and in particular to supporting people of diverse backgrounds, both as agents and as clients. These scholarships and internship opportunities will, ultimately, help us better serve Central New Jersey’s increasingly diverse community.

Nick Fyntrilakis, assistant vice president of community responsibility for MassMutual, said: Our scholarship program is a very important part of our commitment to diversity and education, and because of it and our other efforts, we’re already making a big difference in the lives of the communities we serve.