AAUW Naperville- Area Branch selects two students to attend National Conference of Campus Student Leaders

AAUW (American Association of University Women) Naperville-Area Branch has selected two college student leaders to sponsor as participants in the National Conference of Campus Student Leaders(NCCWSL.) The conference will be held May 28-30, 2015 at the University of Maryland near Washington, DC. A thousand young women are expected to attend this event. AAUW Naperville-Area branch provides the registration fee, which includes meals and housing, and airfare to Washington, DC (total scholarship is $750 per person). The 2015 conference includes notable keynote speakers Nancy Hogshead-Makar, three-time Olympic gold medalist and Title IX expert, and actress/stand-up comedian Maysoon-Zayid, a panel of Women of Distinction Award recipients, as well as workshops focused on life skills of advocacy, leadership, health and wellness, communication and networking. The selected college student leaders selected are Dana Cornish, Benedictine University and Allyson Martens, North Central College. Attending the conference will develop their leadership and communication skills and will be useful as they serve in leadership roles throughout their college program of study. The AAUW Naperville-Area branch NCWCSL sponsorship of these two young women is funded by our AAUW Naperville- Area Used Book Sale which will be held June 10-13 at Celebration! Community Life Center, 919 S. Washington St., Naperville.

Dana Cornish, a freshman at Benedictine University, is majoring in Marketing and is a student member of the American Marketing Association. She graduated from Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, Illinois and was an Illinois State Scholar actively involved in leadership roles such as National Honor Society and the Advertising and Recruitment executive board member for her school's Habitat for Humanity chapter. Dana lives in Bolingbrook and is a commuter student.

At Benedictine, Dana balances school work and leadership roles. In her first semester, she made the Dean's List and participated in leadership conferences. Not only have these conferences helped her to meet wonderful new friends, but they have also given Dana the confidence and knowledge to be a better leader. Recently, she used her improved leadership skills to successfully gain a position in the Student Senate, on the Outreach committee. In this position she will survey students about non-academic related concerns and take appropriate action. An example of this is meeting with the General Manager of Food Services to improve food and drink selection and quality. Another is conducting an open forum about the smoking policy on campus.

Allyson is a junior at North Central College where she is pursuing a degree in Marketing with minors in Leadership and Theater. Originally from Milan, IL, she now resides on the North Central College campus in Naperville. She graduated from Rockridge High School and received the Top Scholar English Department Scholarship, The Ida B. Shaw Scholarship, the North Central College Presidential Scholarship, and the Blackhawk Valley Principal's Award.

Allyson is the event co-chair of NCC's Relay for Life, a member of Blue Key Honor Society and Distinguished Leaders, and an active member of the theatre department. She was recently in the NCC production of "SHOUT! The Mod Musical"

Allyson works for the North Central College Office of Admission and was the intern for the Self-Employment in the Arts Conference. After graduation, Allyson hopes to pursue a career in marketing and event planning.