Carson City area Soroptimist International present scholarships and awards
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Sun, 02/26/2023 - 3:11pm
The Soroptimist International of Carson City ceremony held Wednesday, Jan. 25, at Red’s Old 395 Grill was inspiring. It is such a thrill to honor women and girls seeking to enhance their career potential. Soroptimist strongly believes that education is a pathway to economically empower women and girls. It is the tool to tackle multiple barriers. When women learn, families live healthier lives.
When girls go to school, they are more likely to get better paying jobs and their financial contributions to their families increase. When girls have educated moms, they are more likely to be enrolled in school and to reach higher levels of education. When women are educated, their countries are more likely to have greater economic growth.
We were privileged to feature our identifying Live Your Dream Education and Training Awards for Women for women who have the courage and determination to turn their lives around. The Soroptimist Live Your Dream Award assists women who provide the primary source of financial support for their families by giving them the resources they need to improve their education, skills, and employment prospects. The Live Your Dream Awards give women who are working to better their lives through additional schooling and skills training grants to help defray costs associated with education. These funds assist women, many of whom have overcome enormous obstacles, to offset any costs associated with their efforts to attain a higher education, such as tuition, books, childcare, and transportation.
This year, Maureen Mason, Chair of the Educational Awards and Scholarship Committee, presented two Live Your Dream Awards. The eligibility criteria of the Soroptimist Live Your Dream award is for a local female resident who is the primary financial support for herself and a dependent, accepted or enrolled in an undergraduate degree or skills training program and motivated to achieve her educational and career goals.
Kayla Holcomb, received $1,000 award to pursue her dream of completing Barber school and eventually opening her own shop. Kayla, while dealing with serious health issues and supporting her sibling has received high recommendations from associates and friends for being an inspiration to others — a motivated and responsible young woman. Kayla states that she would like to be in a position to give others a boost up.
Rachel Rundell, received a $1,500 award to pursue her dream of completing Cosmetology school and eventually having her own salon. Rachel decided to pursue her passion in cosmetology as a means to support herself and her young son. Her instructors give Rachel the highest recommendations for motivation, initiative, and a willingness to adapt to change – stating she is an inspiration to others. She is a young woman with a plan to succeed.
Sharon Atkinson, President of SI of the Comstock, presented their Soroptimist Live Your Dream Award to Laura Sheppard. Laura immigrated from Mexico in 1999. After moving to Carson City, she raised her two children, baby-sat three other children, attended Western Nevada Community College to learn English and earn her GED and citizenship certificates. Laura began as a cleaning supervisor, working hard she moved on to become a customer service representative for the Nevada Check-up program, then was promoted to an Administrative Assistant. Laura currently works in the Health Care Quality and Compliance Program processing waiver applications for the elderly. After Laura’s husband passed away in August 2021, she decided to focus on earning a degree in public health. She will be the first member of her family to have a college degree. Laura states she is proud of her accomplishments, and she plans to advance her career with the State of Nevada and make a difference in others’ lives.
Carson City Soroptimist President Didi Chaney awarded our two Live Your Dream recipients with additional funds from the Sally Landis Memorial Foundation to pursue their educational goals. Sally was a life member who joined Soroptimist in 1974. Both Kayla Holcomb and Rachel Rundell were granted an additional $500 for the academic year.
The 2022-2023 Soroptimist International of Carson City Nursing Scholarship is awarded to Marissa Johnson. Marissa is a first generation college student who overcame challenges at an early age to pursue an education. Initially in the hospitality industry for 20 years, at the end of 2019 she shifted to the healthcare industry. She received her certificate as a medical assistant and volunteered at a Covid-19 clinic. Marissa is now working in urgent care as she studies to become a registered nurse. She hopes to work in the emergency room or intensive care unit in a Northern Nevada hospital. Eventually she would like to obtain a master’s degree and possibly become a nurse practitioner, maybe one day teaching nursing. This scholarship is for $2500 which we hope assists Marissa in reaching her goals.
The 2022-2023 Soroptimist International of Carson City Education Scholarship is awarded to Giselle Conchas Montes. Giselle graduated high school in 2021 and is a first generation college student. As she continues her studies for a teaching credential, Giselle holds down a full-time job as a Special Education Paraprofessional in Gardnerville. Her goal is to teach at the elementary school level. Giselle says she always knew she wanted to be a teacher and at the age of 10 years old she would take (or make?) her 3 year old nephew and play school. She has a great love for children and believes her childhood struggles with homework led her to this career path. She credits her parents with instilling her with the knowledge that with hard work she can reach her goals. This scholarship is for $1,500.
Our final scholarship, the 2022-2023 Soroptimist International of Carson City Trade & Industry Scholarship is awarded to Corina Laiacona. As a volunteer assistant coach for her two youngest boys baseball team in Fallon and a stay at home mom taking classes, she is a great example to her children.
Corina plans to intern as a Computer Tech for Churchill County, with the desire to eventually work as an IT Specialist in Cybersecurity. She says that as her children watch her cook dinner and do homework in the kitchen she hopes they see that if you push yourself hard enough great things can come your way. Corina wants to change their perception about school so they can see how rewarding it can be. This scholarship is for $2000.
