Bilingual teacher wins Bloomingdale scholarship

Bloomingdale Area Women in Business awarded a $1,000 scholarship to teacher Katherine McKeown at a luncheon on "Invest in Yourself: Balancing Business & Personal Financial Success," a fitting theme for the afternoon.

Stephanie Fuller of Embolden Wealth Management presented about financial planning. Speaking to a room of local business women, Fuller was able to address that entrepreneurs find building an equally strong personal financial plan sometimes takes a back seat to building their business.

Fortunately, these two issues don't have to be mutually exclusive.

The scholarship was funded by donations from Neil J. Moscicki, CPWA, CFP, ChFC - Wintrust Wealth Management and Emboldened Wealth Management.

Unlike many scholarships being earned during this time, this scholarship is awarded to an adult woman who is looking to improve herself professionally by such means as continued education or professional development, with the goal of furthering her knowledge and expertise.

McKeown will be able to use her education to further her teaching career while filling a need in our schools.

McKeown will use the scholarship funds to help with her Master's program. McKeown is a dual language fourth-grade teacher. She is currently enrolled in the second of 12 classes related to reading and literacy. The new skills she is acquiring will help her become an effective reading specialist and will provide beneficial knowledge that she can use in her classroom.

Assisting bilingual students in reading comprehension and instilling a love for reading is McKeown's passion. Often, bilingual students do not get the appropriate support they need because the specialist does not speak their first language and the student will fall behind in all their classes.

By providing reading support, this ensures the student's academic success in all subjects.

Bloomingdale Area Women in Business is a dynamic group of women who are seeking to expand professional opportunities for themselves in the Bloomingdale area. Bloomingdale Women in Business is looking for women who possess the ability to: "empower, embrace and equip women with the knowledge and resources to achieve their personal goals and reach their professional potential."

The Bloomingdale Area Women in Business goal is to offer educational forums, professional recognition, networking opportunities and a chance to form meaningful relationships for women who join our organization.

For more information, call the Bloomingdale Chamber of Commerce office at (630) 980-9082 or visit www.BloomingdaleChamber.com.