The mission of the world-wide Soroptimist organization is to advance opportunities for women and girls as they seek educational advancement and financial independence. The preeminent program supporting these goals is the Live Your Dream (LYD) Scholarship, awarded annually to a woman who has faced significant challenges but is successfully pursuing a two or four-year degree. Most clubs award just one scholarship, but the Coronado club values this program so much that they award two secondary LYD awards.
The Coronado Soroptimists recently honored recipients and their families at a dinner held in the Coronado City Boathouse meeting room. Due to the year-long fundraising efforts of members and the generous support of the Coronado community, they were able to present awardees with checks totaling $10,000.
Their primary winner is a fairly recent Russian immigrant and mother of three who is majoring in cyber-security at San Diego City College. She plans to transfer to a four-year degree program and eventually hopes to earn graduate degrees in her field. As the primary winner, her file will advance to the Soroptimist regional level and be considered for additional scholarship opportunities.
The other two recipients attend Southwestern College and also plan to transfer to four-year programs. One recipient is the mother of five children who is pursuing an initial degree in accounting. The other is the parent of two and is working towards a career as an archaeologist. Both of these women survived abusive marriages and are now very low-income single parents.
The Coronado club salutes these women and their determination to provide a better future for themselves and their children. The club also wishes to acknowledge Cathy McJannet, the scholarship chair, who spends countless hours on this project, as well as Jan Kass and Katy Green, the two community scholarship readers. Additional acknowledgements and thanks the Coronado community at large. This sizeable award would not be possible without the community’s support of fundraising efforts.
