Renaissance Scholars

L to R: Roshawn Campbell (CSUEB Renaissance Scholars Coordinator), Susan Walker-Christiansen, Ruth Clay, Jessenia Cohen, Ashley Middlebrooks, Felecia Hubbard, Julie Gin, and Thomas Longwood (Renaissance Scholars Outreach Coordinator)

We are so grateful that our branch continues to support the Renaissance Scholars Program at CSUEB. This year we presented four $1,000 scholarships to four very talented and impressive young women. They have demonstrated determination and focus to achieve their
academic and personal goals. Each recipient also received a Student Affiliate Membership to AAUW along with a “Back to School” gift basket. We hope that those of you at the Welcome Event on September 9th had a chance to meet or hear about these exceptional young women.

Make sure to check out their bios in our October newsletter.

 

 


2022-2023

RENAISSANCE SCHOLARS PROGRAM AT CSUEB

We are so grateful that our branch has continued to support the young women from the Renaissance Scholars Program at CSUEB. This year, we presented four $1,000 scholarships and one $500 scholarship to five very talented and impressive women. They have demonstrated significant determination and focus to achieve their academic and personal goals. Each recipient also received a Student Affiliate Membership to AAUW along with a “Back to School” gift basket or award. I hope that those of you who were able to attend our brunch had a chance to meet or hear about these exceptional young women. Following are brief profiles of our five recipients.

L to R: Michelle May, Celena Johnson, Susan Walker-Christensen, Karla Padilla Gonzales (onscreen), Felecia Hubbard and her son (in mask), Amy Nguyen, Julie Gin,and Loranne Weir

Karla Padilla Gonzales is a junior this fall. She is majoring in Human Development with an emphasis on Child Development. Karla has three young children, lives in San Bernardino, and has completed an AA degree. She is an on-line student at Cal State East Bay and hopes to pursue a Master’s degree in social work and work with low-income families or foster youth. Karla credits the foster care system with enabling her to stay in the United States legally and complete her education after becoming homeless when most of her family was deported. She is grateful for the opportunities she has been offered and eager to help others. (She joined us on Zoom.)

Felecia Hubbard will continue as a junior this fall, majoring in Human Development and Women’s Studies. Felecia grew up in Southern California and has an AA degree in Psychology from El Camino College. She is interested in becoming a social worker or working with youth in a residential setting. Felecia lives in Oakland and has a son who is 21 years old. She has worked at several jobs as a single parent and as a college student while dealing with health issues. She has strong recommendations from both supervisors and instructors and is passionate about support for women and foster youth.

Celena Johnson, a returning scholarship recipient (2019), will graduate in the fall of 2022 with a major in Public Health. After graduation, she plans to apply to a Master’s of Nursing program to fulfill her goal of becoming a neonatal nurse. Those of you who remember Celena from 2019 will recall her own experience as a newborn in the NICU and that becoming a nurse has always been her career goal. Celena currently lives in Fremont and continues to hold several jobs, including working on the CSUEB campus and for the City of Hayward.

Michelle May will continue as a senior in the fall and is a returning recipient of our scholarship. She is majoring in Human Development with a concentration in Gerontology. She would like to establish a long-term facility to provide for seniors. Michelle grew up in Oakland and lives in Livermore with her two young daughters. She has an AA degree in Sociology from Laney College and works in Pleasanton. Michelle has participated in several of our branch activities (including our May luncheon) and is very positive and enthusiastic about AAUW. She continues to express her gratitude for our support.

Amy Nguyen has transferred to San Francisco State University this fall and entered the Nursing Program. Acceptance to this program is very competitive; few are selected each year. Amy has both excellent grades and recommendations. Amy has been majoring in Psychology and Pre-Nursing at CSUEB. She lives in San Leandro and has two children. She has worked as a medical assistant at Kaiser for 11 years and volunteered at teen clinics. Amy’s career goal is to become a nurse practitioner. (She was notified about this opportunity after  we selected her as a recipient from CSUEB; our committee decided to continue to support her this year.) She expressed a great deal of interest in AAUW and is grateful for our support.

Thank you again to all of our members for your continued support, which enables us to provide financial support and recognition for these deserving young women.

Additional special thanks to members who contributed to the gift baskets. We filled the “baskets” this year with gift cards and cash donations in addition to some specific useful or personal items. Gift card donations from Target, Safeway, Amazon, gas stations, and cash will provide them with options for groceries, school/office supplies, household supplies, school expenses, and personal needs. In addition to laundry supplies, the cash and gift cards totaled almost $700 for each recipient.

Julie Gin, Susan Walker-Christensen, and Loranne Weir Co-VPs, Local Scholarship