Palatine Chamber women's group awards scholarships
For the sixth consecutive year, the Women In Business Advisory Forum, a networking group of the Palatine Area Chamber of Commerce, offered a scholarship program to female high school seniors in the Palatine community.
The WIBAF Scholarship Committee chose to award one scholarship to applicants from each of the Palatine high schools. This year's recipients are Sydney Kruto from William Fremd High School and Sarah Elischer from Palatine High School.
The WIBAF scholarship provides nonrenewable awards to be used for college tuition, fees, books or supplies.
To be eligible for the application process, female students must have had a minimum of a 2.75 GPA, with the intent of attending a two- or four-year college or university in fall 2020 to pursue a degree in a business-related field.
Other criteria considered by the scholarship judges included business coursework in high school, employment experience, clubs/activities/service/volunteer roles, three short response questions and two letters of recommendation.
Kruto will be attending Indiana University with a major in finance. Sydney made it a priority to pursue business classes through her high school coursework, showing a true passion for a career in business. While maintaining honor roll all four years of high school, she also participated in numerous clubs and activities, including Model United Nations, Peer Tutor, National Honors Society, AP Community, Feed My Starving Children and softball.
In her essay about an influential woman in her life, Sydney wrote about her grandmother: "As a woman in business, I hope to carry the same strength and resilience my grandma has. My grandma's stories of facing adversity, racism and xenophobia have shown me that there is nothing you can't overcome."
Elischer will be attending North Central College, where she will be majoring in finance. Sarah began taking business classes her freshman year, and as a member of the competitive business club BPA, she advanced to the state competition and was selected as the Business Department's Senior of the Year.
Sarah's impact at PHS went beyond the classroom as a member and leader of several clubs, including President's Club, Ecology Club, Service Club, National Honors Society, National Business Honors Society, as well as being a member of the volleyball and track and field teams.
Somehow, Sarah also found time to work at Palatine Animal Hospital and volunteer for many local nonprofits, including Sparrow's Nest Thrift Store, Feed My Starving Children, Election Judge and West Point Parents Club of Illinois.
In Sarah's essay about how she has changed since her first day of high school, she wrote, "I've heard the phrase 'adversity demands awareness, decision and action,' which I experienced firsthand during high school, and these experiences have shaped my current character, increased my self-confidence, and I am quite happy with the person I am today."
This year's scholarship committee included WIBAF members Deb Gabriel with Edward Jones, Linda Hall with Connect To Community, Alex Loof with Signs by Tomorrow and Greta Nielsen with Clinical Care Consultants.
Funds for the 2019-2020 scholarship program were raised through a fashion show fundraiser and raffle prize drawings offered at WIBAF's monthly networking luncheons throughout the year.
WIBAF is an active group of businesswomen who are interested in learning and networking with one another while discussing business related topics. Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Meetings include featured member presentations and organized presentations of business topics, along with time for members to profile their business and engage in networking with other members in attendance.
The fee for WIBAF luncheon networking meetings is $15 per person. Preregistration in required and can be completed online each month at www.palatinechamber.com.
For information, contact Greta Nielsen at gretan@clinicalcareconsultants.com; Julia Tarnorutskaya at j2massagepc@gmail.com; or Sasha Ivanov at sasha.ivanov.vaahjq@statefarm.com.