New Scholarship Committee Awards Eight Scholarships

By Judy Murphy

The Scholarship Committee is now chaired by Wendy Lyons, who received five AAUW scholarships prior to graduating from CCV and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Other members of the Committee are AAUW Membership Chair Norma McShane and AAUW Treasurer Jan Day.

The Scholarship Committee had been chaired since it began in 2007 by Jennifer Kern, assisted by Gudrun Hutchins and Judy Murphy. The three were hit last fall by a “perfect storm” that caused them to resign. Jennifer’s husband Charlie broke a hip and she became his caregiver. Gudrun was in the hospital with serious heart problems, and Judy had a kidney attack and ended up at Albany Med with sepsis. They are grateful to have a new team take over. (Note: There were several other branch members who served as additional members of the committee over the years, including Norma McShane and Mary Feidner.)

Eight nontraditional women attending Southern Vermont College Community College of Vermont are closer to their educational goals thanks to grants from the AAUW Scholarship Fund. “Nontraditional” in this case, includes women continuing their education after a gap, women who are raising small children, and women who are working either part or full-time. All of the applicants have overcome many barriers in order to pursue an education.

AAUW Scholarship Winners

Four previous winners received another award:

CASSANDRA (CASSIE) FURCINITI was awarded $500, her ninth scholarship, and anticipates graduating in June. Her major is Business Management. Ms. Furciniti resides in Bennington with her husband and children ages l7, 13, 6 and 4. She has been taking classes at SVC since 2016, having switched her major from Early Childhood Education to Business Management.

ELLISA MATTISON, will receive $200, which she plans to use for a laptop computer. This is Ms. Mattison’s fifth scholarship and she will also graduate this spring. She is majoring in Early Childhood Education and lives in Pownal with her husband and two children, ages 8 and 10.

IRMA SHORTSLEEVE, of Shaftsbury, was awarded $471. This is her second scholarship and it will mainly be applied to tuition. She is studying toward an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education. Ms. Shortsleeve is married and they share their home with her daughter and three young grandchildren. She expects to graduate in the summer of 2024.

 CAROL RUPERTI, of Bennington, was awarded $200. Ms. Ruperti is pursuing a Certificate in Graphic Design. This is her second AAUW scholarship. She will use the award to replace the battery in her car. Ms. Ruperti  plans to graduate in the spring of 2024.

Four students received their first-time scholarships from AAUW:

MEGHAN COLE received a scholarship of $300 which she will use for books and a computer program. A resident of Manchester Center, Ms. Cole’s major is Early Childhood Education. She is a pre-k teacher at Here Wee Grow Playschool and was a counselor at Taconic and Green Student Success Program summer camp and a part of a pilot mentoring program between T & G Success program and BBA Success program. She will graduate in the summer of 2023.

EMILEE MORSE, of Bennington, majors in Early Childhood Education and plans to graduate at the end of 2023. Ms. Morse received a She is a single mother of two children, ages 7 and 2. She received a scholarship of $200, which she will use for text books. Emilee describes educating and nurturing children as “my passion.” Educators at her children’s daycare centers strongly encouraged her to pursue teaching as a career.

ROBERTA (ROBIN) MOREY, of Manchester Center, received a scholarship of $250 which she will use to purchase textbooks and a software program. Ms. Morey is studying toward a Certificate in Graphic Design and anticipates graduation in December of 2023. Future plans include “having a small business in graphic design and photography.” She is also “thinking about creating holiday cards, special occasion cards, ornaments and business cards.” 

LYSSETTE MARCHEGIANI was awarded a scholarship of $300, which will help her to purchase a laptop. Ms. Marchegiani is working to obtain a Certificate in Allied Health Preparation, and plans to apply to the nursing program at Vermont Technical College once she graduates from CCV. She chose nursing because of “a lot of opportunities to find a job, “but most important is to help people who speak another language, like Spanish,” she said in a note on her scholarship application. Ms. Marchegiani lives in Bennington with her husband and three children, ages 9, 6 and 15 months old.

Total AAUW Scholarships Awarded Since 2007

The addition of this semester’s scholarships, $2,550, brings the total AAUW Scholarships awarded since 2007 to $61,364. Not too shabby for a group of volunteers! Thanks to all the members who helped make this happen!

The Scholarship Funds are raised by “silent angels” (anonymous branch members who have pledged to donate $100 each year), sale of books by the Scribble Sisters, theater fundraisers, donations given in memory or in celebration of various friends of AAUW, and passing the hat at public meetings of the organization. We had eight applicants this year, more than ever before, and had to divide our available funds into eight awards that were smaller than typical awards in previous years. (If you are interested in becoming a “silent angel,” send an email to Mary Feidner <mfeidner@comcast.net>..