PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- The EWGA Foundation -- the charitable arm of the EWGA dedicated to enriching the lives of women by creating and funding education and leadership programs -- has announced the two recipients of its annual Women on Par Scholarship.
The woman chosen for the $1,000 award will begin her senior year this month with a major in Psychology at a California university. Despite being a recent victim of domestic abuse currently in hiding with her young child, she is driving forward with the completion of her degree, being a full-time parent and focusing on her goal of getting into medical school.
Upon being notified of the EWGA Foundation scholarship, she expressed her gratitude and explained how timely and helpful the money has proven.
"I recently met with the university's housing and financial aid department, which informed me that I was $1,000 short for tuition," said the young mother, who requested anonymity due to the domestic violence she's suffered. "This will allow me to finish school and walk across that stage to receive my diploma. This means the world to me."
Despite battling hardship, fear and tremendous personal trauma, including living with her son in a shelter and driving more than an hour each way to attend classes, she has been able to maintain excellent grades and is expected to graduate with honors.
"My son motivates me because I want to show him what it means to be able to pick yourself up and complete your goals," she said. "It is scary to not have a financial support system to rely on, but my advice is to try and keep pressing forward. Don't ever quit. I know this can seem extremely hard when you don't know where your next meal is coming from, or you don't have a roof over your head. It takes a lot of tears and work, and digging around in your soul to find the courage - or crazy - to take one small step at a time. But as long as you don't give up, eventually adversity will pass and someone will help you like the EWGA Foundation is helping me."
The second Women on Par® Scholarship recipient is Michelle Josey of Philadelphia, who enters Cairn University in Langhorne, Pennsylvania this month to pursue a B.S. in Bible Studies. After suffering an abusive marriage, a drug addiction, single motherhood and discovering her HIV-positive status, Michelle decided to move forward with her educational goals by returning to school at the age of 49 and is now working toward her undergraduate degree. Josey was previously enrolled at Lynchburg's Liberty University before her recent move and transfer.
"Sharing my story in counseling sessions and seminars encourages people and gives them hope and belief, because it would have been so easy for me to allow my past to overcome me and for me to give up on myself," Josey said. "But I changed my life and other people can as well.
Established in 2007, the Women on Par® Scholarship Program is designed to assist women over the age of 30 in pursuit of an undergraduate degree. The scholarship provides financial assistance to "nontraditional" female students in order for them to advance themselves in their education and help them "get on par" with their peers and advance themselves professionally.
"The EWGA and EWGA Foundation help women through the game of golf, both on the course and in life," says Nona Footz, president of the EWGA Foundation. "The E in EWGA stands for many things, things which are personally defined, and for Women on Par® Scholarship recipients, the 'E' certainly stands for empowering, which is inspirational."
For more information about EWGA and membership, visit www.ewga.com.
For more information about the EWGA Women on Par Scholarship, visit www.ewgafoundation.com
About the EWGA Foundation
The EWGA Foundation is a 501c(3) tax exempt organization formed and supported by the EWGA that is dedicated to enriching the lives of women through the game of golf. It's mission is to create and fund education and leadership programs for women of all ages. Towards that end, the Foundation strives to develop educational programs that: improve women's leadership abilities, self-esteem and business skills; enable them to serve as mentors to other women and girls; and develop scholarship programs to allow women to pursue educational opportunities.
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Janeen Driscoll
Buffalo Communications, 910.690.9711
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Dan Shepherd
Buffalo Communications, 703.403.5317
dshepherd@buffalocommunications.com