The Foundation’s Women & Giving Advisory Committee met in mid-November to review a record number of applications for this year’s Women & Giving scholarships. Scholarships are awarded to deserving non-traditional female students in line with the program’s mission to help women overcome barriers, increase opportunities, and achieve goals.

This year, the committee awarded $28,000 to twelve deserving non-traditional, female students. Both $2,000 and $3,000 scholarships were awarded to make a meaningful impact on the recipients’ educational journeys.

Lindsey Dorosh attending Mount Marty University and Rita Efraimson, Holly Kopman, and Laura Lawrence, all attending Lake Area Technical College earned a $3,000 scholarship to assist with their post-secondary education.

Madyson Gross and Jenny Ovall, students at Mount Marty University, and Elizabeth Aason, Kennedi Engels, Jenna Lowe, Dalaina Miller, Samantha Swanson, and Kaylee Wilkening, all students at Lake Area Technical College received a $2,000 scholarship.

“Many of our scholarship recipients are young mothers or women returning to school to switch or advance their careers,” said Cammie Mengwasser, Executive Director of the Watertown Area Community Foundation. “By alleviating some of the financial obstacles they encounter, these scholarships empower them to pursue higher education, enhance their career prospects, and create lasting benefits for themselves, their families, and our community.”

The Women & Giving Program began in 2004 with the first scholarships awarded in 2006. Over the past twenty-one years, $492,000 in Women & Giving grants and scholarships have been awarded in support of area women and children in the Watertown area.