Scholarships

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Qualifications | Application Process | 2006 Recipients | 2005 Recipients

The scholarship program is a major part of the Fresno Women’s Network purpose to promote the professional and personal development of women in the community. Each year, the Network awards scholarships to women throughout the Central Valley who demonstrate scholastic merit and financial need with stated goals and objectives. The Fresno Women's Network Scholarship Program is funded by the Fresno Women's Network through fund raising events throughout the year including the Summer Art and Festival, and monthly luncheon raffle ticket sales (you can now buy them online with your luncheon reservation). Community members and businesses who are not members of the Network can still donate to the Scholarship fund for the development of these women who will benefit society by contacting the Scholarship Committee Chair or the Network office. If you know of a woman who may be eligible for this program, please have her contact the Network office.

The Network thanks everyone who contributed to the Scholarship Fund throughout the year, through monthly luncheon raffles and participation in our special events. Special thanks to our founding sponsor, Saint Agnes Medical Center, for their donation of $1,000 to the Scholarship Fund.

Application Process

• The Scholarship Committee will review all applications postmarked on or before March 31, 2008.
• Applicants must submit a completed Fresno Women's Network Scholarship Application, a copy of school transcripts, proof of current enrollment at an accredited educational institution, and three letters of recommendation.
• Incomplete applications packets will not be considered.
• Finalists will be interviewed. One or more scholarships may be recommended to the Board of Directors of the Fresno Women’s Network. The committee and the Board reserve the right not to award any scholarship, if appropriate, and carry forward the funds to be awarded in the future.
• The 2008 scholarships will be presented at the July Fresno Women’s Network luncheon.
• All applicant files and committee recommendations will be maintained by the Fresno Women’s Network office for a minimum of two years.
• To apply for a Fresno Women's Network Scholarship, please download the application or contact the Network office for an application packet.

Qualifications

• The applicant must have a minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent.
• The applicant must have completed a minimum of 12 units, must be currently enrolled in an accredited educational institution at the time the award is solicited and must be continuing her education in the Fall of 2008.
• A minimum of a 3.0 GPA is required.
• The criteria for scholarship selection will be based on varying degrees of the following: financial needs, academics, community involvement, and career goals. The amount of the scholarships will vary based upon the stated criteria.

2007 Scholarship Recipients

	Sherylyn Greer Sherylyn Greer is an attorney-to-be who impressed us with her motivation and enthusiasm. Her motivation to succeed first caught our eye as she graduated an entire year early from high school to pursue her education at an expedited pace. Her enthusiasm for law is evident. Through her experience with the Fresno County Sheriff Reserve Program and Victim Services Academy, Sherylyn confirmed her interest in justice and law enforcement. Her aspiration to learn the law and reinforce what our law enforcement officers do by prosecuting the people they arrest inspired her to pursue the path of criminal law. Sherylyn recently completed her first year of law school at San Joaquin College of Law. She is pursuing her Juris Doctorate, specializing in criminal law. Prior to law school, she graduated from Cal State Fresno with a Bachelor of Science in Criminology. She currently works as a law clerk in the civil division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Federal County Courthouse. She managed to work 32 hours a week and succeed in her first year at law school. Her long term plans are to become a district attorney for Fresno County, and ultimately become a judge.
	Nicole Reichard Nicole has a passion for working with children with special needs. She has always known she wanted to teach, however after her first experience in coaching Special Olympics she walked away knowing the exact field she wanted to teach. She is currently enrolled in the Degree Completion Early Childhood Development Program at Fresno Pacific University, which she will be completing in January 200. Upon completion of her degree, she plans to begin the Credential and Master’s Program and teach Special Education while working toward eventually becoming an administrator for Special Education. Nicole has 2 children and has balanced their needs while getting her degree. At the same time she has volunteered with Special Olympics and been instrumental in getting the program up and running in Madera.
	Janay Conley Janay Conley is currently a Business Banking Associate at Valley Business Bank where she assists in organizing events, project management and customer relations. She is a member of the Cornerstone Church in Fresno where she volunteers with Feeding Fresno, the Red Ribbon AIDS Project, and Celebrate Recovery. She is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree at Fresno Pacific University in Business Management with a minor in Public Relations. Her determination and motivating spirit has allowed her to accomplish everything she has thus far. Janay is a huge advocate for giving hope to the hopeless, that you can accomplish your dreams no matter where you come from or what your situation is.
	Danen Adelson At a very early age Danen Adelson knew her life was different. Growing up in a household where both parents were clinical psychologists and had their practices located in their house, she was always aware of people and their reactions to the world around them. This was the beginning of her long quest or calling in life which became a strong passion for Danen in the study of psychology. Danen attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Psychology. She also assisted her time as a counselor at the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis, help coordinate the Santa Barbara Heart & Soul/AIDS Walk and Run and participated in the Toys for Tots program. Danen has had great opportunities to explore her passion in laboratories studying under the supervision of a Nobel Laureate of Chemistry, working for the chair of the psychology department in his Research Center for Virtual Environments and Behavior and working as a counselor for the Rape Crisis Center in Santa Barbara. All these experiences fueled Danen to continue her studies in Psychology and help her pursue her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Danen will be attending Wright University in the Fall and has the long-term goal of becoming a licensed psychologist and offering her expertise to the members of her local community.
	Stacie Hines – Susan Melkonian Scholarship Recipient Stacie’s motivation and career focus are based on three main goals – to develop skills to operate a nonprofit organization or business, to remain philanthropically engaged in her community, and to share knowledge and experiences with future leaders. Stacie currently works at the EOC Local Conservation Corps, which is a job training program for youth, where she manages a national service program called AmeriCorps. Described as a domestic Peace Corps, Americorps allows individuals to do a year of service addressing education, environmental, health, and public safety needs in the community. Because of this program, she has developed a passion for economic and business development because it has a direct correlation to the City’s rates of unemployment, homelessness, and crime. She believes that attending business school at California State University, Fresno will provide her the opportunity to discover what elements drive businesses to succeed in Fresno and in turn, its citizens. By obtaining her Master’s degree she will be qualified to teach non-profit management and other business classes at local community colleges. In this capacity, she will be able to share her mission and vision with fellow coworkers, mentees and students.

2006 Scholarship Recipients

	Ronna Lee Bright Ronna Lee Bright holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminology/Corrections and is currently pursuing a Master of Social Work (MSW) from California State University, Fresno. The rigorous MSW program requires 16-24 hours of fieldwork per week in addition to classroom time. She is conducting current fieldwork as a medical social worker for Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno which is emotionally and physically demanding. There, she is involved in crisis intervention and spends most of her time in the emergency department and the intensive care unit. Her next field assignment will be the Marjaree Mason Center, a non-profit domestic violence shelter. This is all in addition to her full-time job as a Retirement Plan Administrator. She has also loaned an influential hand to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She single-handedly raised nearly $2,000 for the Society and currently supports the Society’s Team in Training members and staff. Ronna’s educational experiences have sparked her pursuit of “the self-development and empowerment of women at risk.” She told the scholarship committee that she has “a passion for women and their uniqueness; their relationships with others; and their responses to life.”
	Renee Cozens Renee Cozens is an ambitious woman with a warm and generous heart. She is currently enrolled in an intense program with Regis University to receive her master’s degree in Non-Profit Management. Renee feels extremely grateful to have found a master’s program that allows her to put into practice what she learns in the classroom. Currently she is employed by the Alisa Ann Ruch Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to enhance the quality of life for burn survivors and to educate children and the community about burn prevention. Renee feels that she is gaining the skills necessary to fulfill her career objective, to become an Executive Director of a Non-profit. She also loves to volunteer in her spare time, the little time that is available with working full time for a non-profit and earning a master’s degree. Over the last 11 years Renee has been heavily involved with the Young Life organization and currently attends their weekly meetings and assists in any way possible. Renee is a joyful, passionate person that makes the best from life and feels that this career path is molding her into a better person. You often hear Renee say, “I love my job” and we are proud to have her as a returning recipient of the Fresno Women’s Scholarship.
	Cherie Smith Cherie Smith was one of only 30 students chosen from across the United States and Puerto Rico to attend the U.S. Army Military Police National Law Enforcement Explorer Academy held in Fort Leonard, Missouri last July. She was one of the smallest students who attended the eight-day training camp but she came away the biggest hero after saving a man nearly three times her size. During a rappel exercise on a 40-foot tower, Smith saw that an instructor’s knee gave out and he was falling head first, out of control. Cherie held on to the rope, stopping the 300-pound instructor’s fall and searing her hand. She was awarded the Commander’s Award for Public Service from the Department of the Army. That day set Cherie’s destiny. Cherie graduated from high school at the age of 15. She earned a degree in Administration of Justice from College of the Sequoias in Visalia. Cherie is now working towards a Criminology degree at California State University, Fresno and plans to pursue a Master’s degree in the future. Cherie’s passion is in law enforcement and she has a deep desire to combine that passion with her love of helping people. Cherie regularly volunteers at the Visalia Rescue Mission. For three years she has been part of the Police Explorers and Sheriff Explorers programs. She is now the captain of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters Explorer Post. Cherie has volunteered at the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Academy and summer camp. She is also an instructor for the Red Cross. Cherie says “I want to be that person that is helping take crime out of our streets, but also to help troubled people see a reason to change their lives and have a positive vision for their future.”

2005 Scholarship Recipients

Winners are pictured with Melaney Friesen Shaum, Scholarship Committee Chair, at the July 12 luncheon.

	Renee Cozens Renee Cozens is working toward a Master’s Degree in nonprofit management at Regis University. Her dream is to be an executive director of a small nonprofit organization. Renee is putting herself through graduate school, currently working as the Coordinator of Survivor Service & Development for the Alisa Ann Ruch Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to enhance the quality of life for burn survivors and to educate children and the community about burn prevention. In school she has served as Freshman Senator, Mentors Assistant, Resident’s Assistant and Social Work Club President. For the last 11 years she has volunteered with Young Life’s Capernaum Project working with high school students who have physical and developmental disabilities. She serves in the Well Community Church and LARCs, a civic group that raises money for the developmental disability community of Fresno County. Renee looks forwards to helping handicapped persons throughout her life. Her personal goals include making a difference in her community.
	Valerie Velasquez Valerie Velasquez was one of Fresno Women’s Network Scholarship winners in 2004. She grew up in the small town of Lindsay here in the Valley and just completed her junior year at Saint Mary’s College of California. While managing a high GPA and a part-time job, she has volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, The Homeless Awareness Project, Campus Ministry, University of California San Francisco Women’s Health Study and the American Cancer Society. After graduation, Valerie plans to attend law school to earn her J.D. and M.B.A. in 3 ½ years with special study in Public Interest Law. Her career goal is to open her own law firm in Tulare County to give back to her community. Her personal goal is to always keep God in everything she does.
	Janeva Tollison Janeva Tollison, originally from Exeter, currently attends St. Mary’s College of California, where she plans on becoming a clinical psychologist. Prior to attending St. Mary’s, Janeva spent two years attending the College of the Sequoias in Visalia. She maintained a high G.P.A. while working at the Pro Youth/Heart program at Rocky Hill Elementary School in Exeter, an after-school program that creates lessons for Attention Deficit Disorder and depressed children. This experience fueled Janeva’s career choice in psychology as well as non-profit work. She has also volunteered for Homeless Awareness, Campus Ministry, Dorothy Day House and Rock the Vote. Janeva plans to attend California State University, Fresno, to obtain her master’s degree in Child and Family Counseling and her doctoral degree in Psychology. After completing her education, she plans to return to Tulare County to help the community where she grew up. When Janeva was asked about her greatest strength, she replied “caring.”
	Meagan Jamieson Meagan Jamieson received her Associate of Science in Mathematics from Reedley College in May. She is moving on to California State University, Fresno, in August and plans to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics in three years. She plans to earn her Single Subject Credential and teach high school math. While she is teaching, she plans to achieve her master’s degree. Meagan has worked at various jobs since she was 14 years old. As a math tutor at Reedley College, she helped fellow students, and she worked seven hours a week as a teaching assistant at Sanger Academy in a seventh grade math classroom. She knows her career in teaching math will fulfill her personal goal of loving what she is doing and helping others along the way.
	Sunny Sawyer Sunny Sawyer maintains a 3.67 GPA as a full-time student at Reedley College while working 20 hours per week as a cashier and photo technician for Longs Drugs and 15 hours per week in the college tutorial lab. A double major in Computer Science and Mathematics, she will complete her studies spring semester 2006 and plans to transfer in fall 2006 to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; or California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. Sunny serves as president for the honor society Alpha Gamma Sigma, donates time to a number of worthy local charities and says she “likes being able to make a difference.”

Copyright 2006© Fresno Women's Network
P.O. Box 27500, Fresno, CA 93729-7500
Phone (559) 450-2102, Fax (559) 450-2041
office@fresnowomensnetwork.org