by Judy Murphy

It all began at an AAUW Bennington Branch board meeting at the home of Norma McShane back in 2006. In addition to supporting the national AAUW Education Fund, then President Judy Murphy proposed starting a scholarship program to help local women. The group decided the fund would  support non-traditional women students, women overcoming challenges to continuing their education. 

There was a scholarship program locally run by the Business and Professional Women (BPW). The organization was disbanding and we worked with them to take over the scholarships. 

In the beginning, the Scholarship Committee worked with the late Jan Bopp at the Tutorial Center, who ran a program called Bridge to College. Like BPW’s, our early scholarships were awarded to students in that program. This evolved into our involvement with students at Community College of Vermont.

Initially, we also took over BPW’s responsibilities of running a food concession at the Bennington Car Show, then held at the Pownal Race Track. It was a large source of funding that entailed scheduling teams of six persons in four hour shifts from Friday morning through Sunday evening from 8 AM to 5 PM. According to the September 2007 newsletter, we had to schedule 39 work slots for which members and a few husbands signed up. We sold hot dogs and hamburgers, pizza, chili, soft drinks, cookies and ran a popcorn machine. We were paid 20% of the money for all food sales and earned nearly $2000 during the weekend the first year. Best of all, we had no up-front costs because the NorShaft Lions bought and cooked all the food and provided the cold drinks. It was a major endeavor that ended three years later when the car show moved to Bennington.

After that, scholarship monies were raised by huge weekend garage sales, held at Jennifer Kern and Charlie Copp’s garage, and theater benefits that were held at Oldcastle Theatre and Dorset Theatre. 

The Branch Book Club was founded by member Marge Carter, and when she died suddenly in 2011, the group set up a memorial fund to help purchase textbooks for our scholarship winners. Donations have been matched each year by her husband, Col. Bob Carter. To date, $6,475 has been raised and distributed.

More money was needed. Fundraising ideas were raised at board meetings and after discussing many plans, all of them labor intensive, one member (I believe it was Madeline Kennedy) said, “I’d rather just make a donation!”  There was no argument!

A core group of donors was formed on the spot and pledged $100 each year. Mary Feidner volunteered to collect donations and the Silent Angels began. Contributions are anonymous and tax deductible. Members are invited to contact Mary to be included in the Silent Angels.

More recently, the Scribble Sisters was organized. The Scribble Sisters is a group of members who gather twice a month to write together. They have published three books and the profits from each of  their books has come to approximately $1000, which they have donated to the Scholarship Fund. Close to three thousand dollars have been contributed to date.

Gifts given in memoriam have been added to the fund.

The Scholarship Committee is chaired by Jennifer Kern, who works closely with Lucy Robinson, to identify eligible non-traditional women students. Ms. Robinson is the financial aid counselor at CCV. She helps students with the FAFSA application for their Pell grants and their VSAC scholarship applications. With this information the Scholarship Committee is able to assess each student’s financial needs and tailor our scholarships to fill in some of the gaps. We are grateful to Lucy for her invaluable help. She has since become an AAUW member. Other members of the committee are Gudrun Hutchins and Judy Murphy. Over the years Mary Feidner, the late Jane Bloom, Norma McShane and Andrea Weisberg have served on the committee.

The Scholarship Committee meets twice a year to award Fall and Spring semester awards. This year, Spring semester scholarships total $2000 and Marge Carter Book Awards are $450. Four women will be helped by this fund, one for the 5th time and three others for the first time. 

Cassandra M. Furciniti

This will be Ms. Furciniti’s 5th AAUW Scholarship. The mother of four children, ages 2, 4, 11, and 15, she works full time as the Staffing Coordinator for the Companies of JJ Young. She is a resident of Bennington. Ms. Furciniti, 31, was awarded a $550 scholarship and $100 for books.

This term she will be taking two courses, Introduction to Research Methods and Child Development at the Community College of Vermont (CCV). Her goal is to attain an associate degree in Early Childhood Education and open her own daycare center.

Janice Mitchell-Love, who taught Ms. Furciniti English Composition 1 last term, describes her pupil as “an excellent student who unfailingly produces high caliber work, week after week. It is clear that Ms. Furciniti has a thirst for knowledge, a commitment to academic excellence, and a drive to achieve her personal best.”

In a letter of recommendation, fellow student Ellisa Mattison wrote, “I have watched her overachieve hurdles that have been thrown at her while in school. She is a hard-working mom, wife, and student.”

In an essay written in support of her scholarship application, Cassie explained the process they went through this past year  to qualify for a Habitat for Humanity home. It entailed writing an essay on why she thought the family deserved a home with Habitat, then prove she and her finance could afford to pay the mortgage, and to prove they have good credit. After they were approved, everyone in the household over 18 had to put in 500 “sweat equity” hours in building the house. “Working with Habitat for Humanity has been a life changer for my family. My children can now grow up in their own home and we no longer had to cram six people into a two-bedroom apartment.”

In an email, Ms. Furciniti wrote, “I would like to thank the Bennington Branch for the AAUW Scholarship I was rewarded. I would also like to thank Jennifer Kern for all the help she has given to me. This is a group of amazing women and I am thankful for all the help you give to all women that are trying to better their lives.”

April Crawford

April Crawford, of Bennington, is a stay-at-home mother of four, aged 8, 9 and 17 and 21. She homeschools her youngest three as well as two other young children. She said in an essay, “At 38 years old, and for the first time in my life, I knew what I wanted the next chapter to entail–my education. I had discussed a well-thought-out plan with my incredibly supportive four children and my amazing husband. They were as proud of me as I was of me.”

Ms. Crawford was awarded a $500 scholarship and $200 for books. Her goal is to complete the Bookkeeping Certificate and then move on to attain an associate degree in Accounting.

She will be enrolled in two courses in January, one in SpreadSheet and one in Financial Accounting. 

Elizabeth McHale, a member of the faculty at CCV, highly recommended Ms. Crawford, who she taught last semester. “She has been excellent to work with in every way–she is always prepared and leads in the online discussions. She turns in excellent and well-considered work. And she contributes a lot of life experience to class discussions. She is an excellent role model for the younger, more passive students who are just out of high school. CCV elected to go entirely online this semester due to Covid. So not only was April returning to school after a period of time since graduation, she was also having to learn to navigate an online learning platform. She has performed beautifully both as a student and as a student online.”

Another recommendation came from Jessica Whalen, who worked with Ms. Crawford at The Clip Shop in Bennington, “I have known April Crawford for 9 years. . . . She was in charge of handling 11 stylists’ schedules, running the desk, and making sure clients stayed happy. She is great with multi-tasking, problem solving, and always giving it her best to resolve issues with a positive outcome. She knows how to stay busy without being asked to do specific tasks.”

“I am incredibly passionate about gardening,” Ms. Crawford said in an essay. She described the beautiful vegetable gardens of her father and grandfather. “I could not wait to share this with my children. We start our seedlings at the beginning of April, watching them grow and come to life. I think this is a great way to spend time together as a family. I can also teach them how to grow their food and the importance of knowing where your food comes from. Once the plants have evolved, producing abundant, luscious vegetables, we become very excited to harvest the beautiful fresh vegetables from our garden for our delicious dinners. Every time I check on the garden, I find the sense of peace and balance with nature. I can only hope that this passes on to my children.”

In a letter of thanks Ms. Crawford wrote, “I am sincerely honored that you have selected me to receive an AAUW scholarship. Thank you for your generosity, which will allow me to move forward in reaching my educational goals. . . . By awarding me this scholarship, you have lightened my financial burden this semester. I am genuinely grateful. . . and can only hope that one day I would be able to return the favor to another deserving student just as you have helped me.”

Sara Webster

Ms. Webster, 35, of Bennington, has been awarded a scholarship of $600. She is studying to become a pediatric nurse and this term will study Human Growth and Development and Medication Terminology at CCV. She is a senior sales associate at Rablogan Castle of Scotland.

Years ago, Ms. Webster was interested in studying to be a psychiatrist and enrolled at the College of St. Joseph. However, by the second semester she changed major and studied Computer Information. After two years at CSJ working toward an Associate Degree in Science, she found she was pregnant with a son. Her thought at the time was to take a short break from school and go back when he was a year old. He is now 14 and his sibling is 12.

“Life has a funny way of working out though. It had taken me 14 years to finally be in a place in life to continue my education and to figure out that working with children and becoming a nurse is my calling,” she wrote in her application.

Last term Ms. Webster studied Human Anatomy and Physiology at CCV, taught by board-certified general surgeon Eric Scott Frost, MD, FACS. Dr. Frost recommended Ms. Webster, stating, “She demonstrated hard work and good overall understanding of the subject matter. She received an A with a 94% average. Sara has a good work ethic and good communication skills. . . . I believe she is well-suited for a career in Nursing. Her career goal is to obtain an RN degree and then become a pediatric nurse. She has a good knowledge base and I believe will adapt well to a fast-paced clinical environment. Sara is a hard-working student who was always punctual with her assignments and completed all labs. She interacts well with others during online discussions, and I believe she has great potential to deliver health care to clients of all ages in a compassionate and competent way.”

Ms. Webster, whose husband is a chimney sweep, asked AAUW to “aid a determined/
headstrong mother to accomplish her dream career and show her kids that hard work and determination will always pay off when you give yourself time and follow your dreams.’

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this scholarship,” Ms. Webster wrote, “It really means the world to me and helps get me just one step closer to my dream career of becoming a nurse. Again, thank you.”

Ellisa Mattison

Ms. Mattison, 31, of Pownal will receive a scholarship of $350, plus $150 for books. Her goal is to earn an Associate Degree in Early Education. She has been taking classes at CCV for three years and this semester will be taking two courses: Power of Food in Literature, Culture and Film and Wellness for Life.

She is a wife and mother of two children, ages six and nine, and teaches at Oakhill Children’s Center in Pownal. While in high school she volunteered for credits at a local childcare center, and after graduation continued the work in the field. Once her second child was a year old she returned to her first love and again worked at Oakhill. “I enjoyed helping little minds grow and learn. You know they say something is addicting, well watching children learn and grow was mine,” she explained in her scholarship application.”

Tim O’Connor, instructor at CCV, who taught Math and Algebra for College, stated in a letter of recommendation that Ms. Mattison’s academic performance throughout the semester has been very good; and her responses to our Discussion Boards around achieving success in academic and professional endeavors were thoughtful. “For the past three years Ellisa had been a full-time mom while working and taking community college courses. She has indicated to me that, while her husband is working a night shift, it is sometimes quite difficult to juggle children, work, and homework. What impresses me most if that Ellisa’s commitment to succeeding and her performance as a mom, wife, worker, and student is an indication of her grit and growth mindset.

Another recommendation came from Cassie Furciniti, who has studied with Ms. Mattison over the past three years. “I have watched Ellisa excel in her classes. She is great with children and has picked a career that goes well with who she is as a person. Ellisa is a great role model. Her ability to balance a full time job, schoolwork, and a family life, is inspirational. She is passionate about Early Childhood Education and is great in the field.”

Ms. Mattison wrote, “I want to say thanks so much for helping not only me but my family with giving me the AAUW Scholarship. If it was not for you guys we would be even tighter on trying to get some of the things that I need for college.”

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