These students who despite personal hardships had the perseverance to continue their education after a long hiatus were the recipients of the 2013 Education Fund Fellow award of $10,000.
Ellen Lee, a dietetic technician major; Rema Marks, a childhood education major; and Mayra Vega, a liberal arts and science major, were among 15 women selected from 12 New York colleges including Columbia University, New York University and Queens College.
The Education Fund of the Women’s Forum provides annual awards to
encourage women who are at least 35-years old of need to fulfill their
potential through the pursuit of an undergraduate college education.
The award recognizes extraordinary and often heroic effort in overcoming
adversity and the most daunting of odds in building lives for success.
“This scholarship changes the trajectory of these students’ lives
in unimaginable ways,” said Dr. Gail O. Mellow, president of LaGuardia
Community College. “With this generous gift these incredible women
will now be able to pursue their educational and career dreams with far
fewer financial worries and with the recognition they well deserve.”
Ms. Lee, a victim of domestic violence who found the strength to escape
an abusive marriage, enrolled in LaGuardia’s dietetic technician
program after being out of school for 30 years. Entering the program
with a keen interest in the science of weight loss and nutrition, the
52-year-old honor student excelled in her studies despite her long
absence from higher education.
She joined Phi Theta Kappa, the College’s honor society, and was an
active member of the Food and Nutrition Club. She also volunteered for
the Cornell Cooperative Extension at the Mount Sinai Greenmarket where
she educated residents in the low-income community on how to shop for
fresh food at the farmers market.
Ms. Lee recently graduated with her associate’s degree and will
transfer to Lehman College this fall to pursue a bachelor’s degree in
dietetics. “I am extremely passionate about making a difference in
the obesity epidemic,” said Ms. Lee, who has dealt with her own weight
issues, “and with this scholarship I can continue to fund my
education.”
After winning her battle against cancer after over a year of multiple
treatments, Ms. Marks, 38, decided to pursue a passion she had to put
off for many years—higher education. She quickly earned her GED after
six weeks of classes and enrolled in LaGuardia’s early childhood
education program.
As an international student, Ms. Marks faces financial hurdles, which
almost prevented her from continuing her education, but she managed to
obtain a 3.7 G.P.A. Off campus, she is a counselor at Global Christian
Ministries Community service, mentoring battered women and young boys.
“This scholarship has given me new hope to pursue my dreams,” said
Ms. Marks, who plans on becoming a teacher. “The money from this
scholarship will help to alleviate some of my financial issues and will
enable me to stay focused on my academic work and graduate in June of
2014.”
At the age of 14, Ms. Vega’s life was thrown into upheaval when her
parents learned she was a lesbian. Facing verbal and physical abuse
from her parents and ostracism from her poor Hispanic community in New
Jersey, she moved out when she was 18. She moved from place to place,
first with a friend and then with a group of squatters. And throughout
that period in her life she tried to attend college, but the instability
prevented it.
That all changed when she volunteered as an outreach worker for the
Hispanic AIDS Forum’s HIV prevention program for gay Latino youth.
Volunteering led to a position as a health educator, which motivated her
in 2012 to enroll at LaGuardia, her first step to getting a degree in
psychology. The 43-year-old liberal arts and science major who has a
3.9 G.P.A. and is interning with the psychology department’s Student
Experiences Research Group, is determined to pursue a doctorate in
developmental psychology.
“Being selected as a 2013 Women’s Forum Education Fund Fellow will
allow me to continue as a full time student, allowing me to dedicate
myself completely to my academic career,” said Ms. Vega. “I am
honored by the fund’s confidence in me and their willingness to
contribute to my future education.”