Seven local women awarded scholarships
Women received grants of between $1,000 – $2,000
– This year the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Atascadero awarded $10,000 in college scholarships to local women. Women students have been especially hard hit by the pandemic, many losing their jobs and ability to pay for education or dropping out to take care of young children at home. The women received grants of between $1,000 – $1,500 each and one received the Georgie Arnold Scholarship for future educators: an award of $2,000.
AAUW Atascadero scholarships are unique in that they are available to North County women with at least one year of college or university-level credits who will re-enroll in the 2022-23 school year, whether they are continuing students, or returning to school after some time away.
Summer Tietje.
Summer Tietje is studying Aerospace Engineering concentrating in Astronautics at Cal Poly. She has also been involved with the Young Life program because she believes that it has the power “to deeply change students’ lives by showing unconventional and unrelenting love to them.”
Maria Contreras.
Maria Contreras has been accepted at Fresno State to continue her studies in Criminal Justice. Her dream is to become a probation officer to help strengthen families, empower people to take control of their lives, and make any necessary changes to live a better lifestyle. Maria comes from a family of farm workers.
Isabella Beck
Isabella Beck is a junior at Cal Poly in Business Administration/Entrepreneurship. Becoming a Certified Residential Real Estate appraiser is her goal.
Ava Gibler
Ava Gibler just entered the Master of Education program at Cal Poly in order to earn her Mathematics teaching degree. Tutoring children of farm workers in Monterey County has reinforced her desire to continue working with them as a future teacher.
Tori Schamber
Tori Schamber is a Junior at Cal Poly majoring in Environmental Management and Protection with a minor in Rangeland Resources. A former Tech Trek camper, she is interested in regenerative agricultural practices to make systems more self-sustaining.
Drew Daner is a former Tech Trek camper who is receiving the Georgie Arnold scholarship this year. Her passion for helping others, and wanting to empower women sparked her goal of becoming a teacher of mathematics.
Maritza Perez is a first-generation Latina student who realized the inequities in the health care system, especially during the pandemic. That sparked her goal to become an epidemiologist. Currently, she works part-time as a licensed Phlebotomist and draws blood as part of the Healthy Mamas project.
AAUW Atascadero is the largest of the five branches of the national organization in SLO County. AAUW has been empowering women as individuals and as a community since 1881. For more than 130 years, the national grassroots organization has worked to improve the lives of millions of women and their families.
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