“Furthering the Dream” Educational Award!
Sierra Pacific Region Furthering the Dream Award
The mission of the Sierra Pacific Region Furthering the Dream Award is to advance the status of women, through financial support while studying for a baccalaureate, masters, doctoral, law, medicine, teaching, technical degrees or certifications, etc. who are pursuing a course of study non-traditional for women, or that which will improve the lives of women/girls.
Our hope is to support women who are working in fields that support the Soroptimist mission of improving the lives of women and girls so that they will become a strong voice for all women.
Candidates should be:
- pursuing a degree program – baccalaureate or beyond (and in their last year), or an advanced certificate program
- must be citizens of a country represented by Soroptimist International of the Americas,
- must live within and be currently enrolled in a university or satellite program located within the territory of Sierra Pacific Region which includes the counties of Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne in California.
Soroptimist members and their families are excluded from the competition.
Application materials are due by March 1, 2021. Candidates considered for final selection must appear for a personal interview April 2021. For more information click on the link below or contact the Chair: Mrs. Susan Buckley, 10942 East Promontory Way, Clovis CA 93619, (661) 755-3308 or sbuckley@newmarketcareers.com
SPR Fellowship Info and Application-(writable) The selected recipients of the Sierra Pacific Region Furthering the Dream Award are expected to attend the Sierra Pacific Region Spring Conference Awards Luncheon on Saturday, May 15, 2021, in Visalia CA to provide a brief presentation about their research and receive their award.
HISTORY OF THE FELLOWSHIP GRANT:
At the May 2019 Board meeting, the Governor introduced the History of Fellowship and asked the Board to re-evaluate our application criteria to include and support women in all fields of study. At the July 2019 Board meeting, the Board voted to amend the criteria and procedures for the Fellowship Program to include all fields of study, not just Masters/PhDs that require a thesis, and eliminate the restriction to women and girl issues/areas of study.
At its inception in 1948 our Soroptimist Pacific Region (which included the clubs currently in the Sierra Pacific Region) wanted to assist women in the last year of their post graduate studies in political science, international relations, or allied fields only. In 1952 the Pacific Region was divided into three separate regions and Southwestern Region took over the Fellowship program.
The original restrictions of areas of study were eliminated 10 years later in 1958 because Soroptimist realized we needed more women in more post-graduate degree programs in order to be competitive with men in work and in the world. The program was amended to encourage women to pursue post-graduate degrees in ALL fields of study including psychology, law, nuclear engineering, etc. When the Southwestern Region was divided into three separate regions, creating the Sierra Pacific Region, Founders Region took over the Fellowship Program.