Ten women are getting early holiday gifts, thanks to Career Advancement Scholarships from the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation.  This enables them to move closer to fulfilling their dreams of finishing school and advancing their careers.

BPW Foundation established the Career Advancement Scholarship Program in 1969 to provide financial assistance to financially disadvantaged women seeking to further their education. Scholarships are provided to women 25 years of age or older, who wish to advance in their careers or are soon to enter or re-enter the workforce.  This year’s scholarships buy inflatable slide focused on recipients pursing bachelors degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) or related fields. These fields are careers where women are traditionally under-represented.

“BPW Foundation scholarships have a profound effect both on the women who receive them and on their communities.   Many recipients use the degrees they earn with the help of a BPW scholarship to work in careers that directly impact the quality of life in their communities,” explained Dr. Sheila Barry-Oliver, Chair of the BPW Foundation Financial Aid Committee. “That is why BPW Foundation has the application and screening process done through BPW Foundation state and local Legacy Partners. They know the women in their communities.”

Scholarship recipients must have been accepted at an accredited educational institution and be within two years of completing their degree.  Over the years, demographics have shown that the average recipient is a 37 year-old single mother of two children.  Twenty-five percent of the recipients have received public assistance at one time or another and 40 percent of the recipients are the first in their immediate family to earn a college degree.

“Once again I am so impressed by the quality of the applicants and heartened by their stories and drive,” BPW Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett said.  “I am so pleased to be part of an organization with a program that has such a profound impact on women, with limited opportunities but unlimited potential.”

Career Advancement Scholarships are made possible through the long time generosity and commitment of BPW Foundation donors.  For every gift given, 97% directly funds our programs supporting workingwomen, their families and successful workplaces.

Each woman is receiving a $2000 grant. Following is the list of scholarship recipients, their home states, and degree aspirations:

Career Advancement Scholarships

Laura Schumacher, Grass Valley, CA95949, BSN

Layne Jackson Hubbard, Denver, CO, BS, Neuroscience

Leslie Venable Adams, Denham Springs, LA, BSN

Erin R. Dunphy, Beverly, MA, BSN

Jeannine Padilla, Ronan, MT, BS, Computer Science

Christina Palmer, Weddington, NC, BSCE (Civil Engineering)

Anastasia Mercier, Franklin, NH, BS, Psychology/Health Science

Kristin E. Leonard, Jersey Shore, PA, MS, Forensic Anthropology

Susan R. Ledford, Spartanburg, SC, BS, Accounting/BA Psychology

Michelle Lopez Michaelson, Little Elm, TX, BSN

BPW Foundation supports workforce development programs and workplace policies that recognize the diverse needs of working women, communities and businesses. BPW Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) research and education organization. To learn more, visit http://www.bpwfoundation.org/

To contact any of the recipients please call or e-mail Sherry Saunders.  See her contact information at the top of this release.