AAUW Naperville Area is offering two $5,000 scholarships this year

This year, the American Association of University Women Naperville Area is pleased to offer two $5,000 scholarships to women working toward earning their undergraduate degrees.

Since 1971, AAUW Naperville has offered the Angeline Gale Scholarship, with the intent to encourage women to engage in scholarly pursuits, even when their education may have been interrupted for various reasons.

This year, due to the kindness of a generous donor, the AAUW Naperville is also offering the L & S Inspirational Leadership Scholarship, the focus of which is to recognize women who have assumed leadership positions within their school and community and have the desire to make meaningful contributions to society, both now and in the future.

Joan Schaeffer, scholarship chair, notes, "Across the globe, women face many challenges. Empowering women is one of the greatest ways to meet these challenges, and education is one of the greatest ways to both empower women and enable them to develop the leadership qualities needed to make meaningful contributions within their careers and the community at large. We hope that these scholarships will assist women in accelerating the completion of their educational journeys, allowing them to move on to successful careers, where they will be appreciated, respected, and valued."

Applicants must reside or attend school in DuPage, Will, Kendall, or Kane counties in Illinois.

The scholarships can be awarded to part-time as well as full-time students who are in traditional or accelerated programs. The candidates may already be receiving financial aid.

In addition, for the Angeline Gale Scholarship, applicants must: be a woman at least 26 years of age; be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program at an accredited institution; and have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0. Applicants also must either be on track to graduate by December 2022, if enrolled in an associate degree program, or achieve junior status by the application deadline of March 31, 2022, if enrolled in a bachelor's degree program.

Qualifying applicants for the L & S Inspirational Leadership Scholarship are women of any age, who must: be enrolled in a bachelor's degree program at an accredited institution; demonstrate leadership qualities and currently hold or have recently held leadership positions in school or within the community; demonstrate a desire to make a meaningful contribution to society, both now and in the future; achieve junior status by the application deadline of March 31, 2022; and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.

Application materials are available on the AAUW Naperville Area website at napervilleil.aauw.net/scholarships/.

Questions can be directed to aauwnapervillescholarship@gmail.com.