Page 11 - Martin Downs Bulletin - July '21

Martin Downs, Page 11
Honoring
Soroptimist Of Stuart Awards
Allow Women To Live Their
Dreams
By Jackie Holfelder
The women who are awarded with Soroptimist
International of Stuart’s (SIS) annual Live Your Dream
Awards have overcome so many challenges to reach the
places they’re at today that the changes that COVID-19
concerns made to the usual awards ceremony were but a blip
on the radar screen.
Winners of these greatly appreciated monetary awards Glenda Edwards
were notified by phone and received certificates and checks
by mail, rather than at the festive dinner celebration held
prior to 2020. chapter present as many Live Your Dream Awards as
This year’s recipients received the welcome calls during financially possible to compensate for COVID-related
Soroptimist’s recent monthly meeting. hardships.
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Nicole Mayer Sara McGaha Jenny Nguyen
Soroptimist national headquarters requested that each The parameters for the Live Your Dream Award specify
the recipient be a primary breadwinner for themselves and
their dependents and be attending an undergraduate degree
program or a vocational skills training program and have a
financial need. This program has been in effect since 1972.
The first-place award recipient was Glenda Edwards, who
is pursuing an associate’s degree in digital media at IRSC.
She has two boys, one of whom is a senior in high school
and the other a teenager who was diagnosed with autism at
the age of 3.
When Glenda grew up, education was not a priority nor
was it encouraged. Her philosophy now is that you can be
At HarborChase whatever you want to be if you have a good support system.
She earned her GED as an adult before going on to IRSC.
At 40 years of age, she wants to be there to support her two
sons and their dreams and goals.
Second-place Live Your Dream Award winner Sara
McGaha is enrolled in a full-time nursing program at IRSC.
She returned to school after 20 years to pursue her dream. Her
goal of becoming a nurse was put on hold until her children
were older and more self-sufficient.
She enrolled in IRSC during the summer of 2019 after
enduring domestic violence and abuse for several years.
As a survivor who is currently a massage therapist, Sara
looks forward to serving the community as an RN. She
was also recognized as an award recipient for the Women
in Transition category, which is for an individual 40 or
older, overcoming obstacles, to go to school to change her
career path.
Third-place Live Your Dream Award recipient Nicole
Mayer is currently in Thailand in a program for students who
have PTSD. She is working towards her bachelor’s degree
in psychology at Keiser University.
She, herself, knows many individuals who are affected
by mental health or brain disorders. After being diagnosed
with bipolar disorder and PTSD at 11 years of age and giving
birth to a son with autism, asthma and seizures, Nicole found
a passion for understanding mental health and illness.
The Youth Service Award recognizes young women from
sophomore to senior year of high school who have had a
significant impact through volunteer activity in the area of
drug prevention, crime, environment, and poverty.
This year’s recipient was Jenny Nguyen who moved
to California from Vietnam with her dad 12 years ago.
The immigration process delayed her mother’s arrival for
two years.
Living conditions were not good for Jenny prior to her
mother’s arrival. Her father had fallen into addiction and
when her mother finally got to America, she and Jenny
moved to Florida.
This experience led to Jenny’s desire to pursue a career in
mental health. While a senior at Treasure Coast High School
simultaneously pursuing a degree at IRSC, she founded
a psychology interest and mental health awareness club,
organized fundraisers to provide resources like a hotline/
helpline, a counselor and a bulletin board to encourage
conversation and remove the stigma that surrounds mental
illness. Jenny recently helped sponsor legislation and
advocated to state legislators through American Foundation
for Suicide Prevention Florida in Tallahassee on Florida Day.
Jenny will be attending Stanford University in California.
To learn more about these awards, visit www.
soroptimistofstuart.org.
Photos provided by Soroptimist of Stuart
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