Spherion Fort Myers Honors Estero High School Student with Sandy Mazur Leadership Scholarship

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Spherion Staffing and Recruiting (Spherion) of Fort Myers is proud to announce that Jessica Pardo Montoya, a 2025 graduate of Estero High School, has been named a recipient of the annual Sandy Mazur Excellence in Leadership Scholarship. The $5,000 scholarship was established in honor of Spherion’s former President, Sandy Mazur, recognizing her unwavering dedication to leadership, excellence, and service to others. Since its creation in 2019, the scholarship has supported students pursuing higher education, technical training, or skilled trades, reflecting Spherion’s commitment to helping students achieve their educational and career goals.

Jessica, a first-generation college student, has distinguished herself through outstanding academics, leadership, and community service. While maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout high school, Jessica worked more than 50 hours per week and served as vice president of Interact, contributing to projects supporting local charities such as Meals of Hope and Cafe of Life, as well as international initiatives like donating eyeglasses to communities in Colombia. Her dedication to service reflects her commitment to “paying it forward” and helping others, embodying the leadership and excellence celebrated by the Sandy Mazur Scholarship. Now a full-time student at Florida Gulf Coast University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing, she has already earned her CNA license, gaining hands-on experience to prepare for a career as a registered nurse.

“Seeing Jessica honored with the Sandy Mazur Leadership Scholarship is truly inspiring,” said David Miller, local franchise business owner of Spherion Fort Myers. “At Spherion, we believe in giving back to our community and supporting the next generation of leaders. Jessica’s commitment to her studies, her community, and helping others reflects the very values this scholarship was created to celebrate. We’re proud to play a small part in helping her continue her journey and make a difference in the world.”

The award honors students like Jessica, who demonstrate the qualities that Sandy Mazur embodied during her 18-year career at Spherion—excellence, leadership, and a passion for making a difference. Created in her honor, the scholarship reflects Mazur’s “pay it forward” spirit, which continues to inspire teams at hundreds of Spherion offices nationwide and helps the next generation carry forward Mazur’s dedication to community service.

The Spherion Scholarship Advisory Board, led by franchisees Beth DeLaney and Michael Chalmers, coordinated with the Ohio-based nonprofit The Richland County Foundation, which disburses grants for charitable organizations, to review hundreds of applicants and choose the finalists. From there, a group of franchise community representatives, including DeLaney, Chalmers and Mazur, select the winners. With the names and locations removed, the group reviewed the applicants and chose Jessica as one of five scholarship recipients.

“Celebrating Jessica as a recipient of the Sandy Mazur Excellence in Leadership Scholarship is such a joy,” said Mazur. “Her achievements, leadership, and dedication to making a difference in her community reflect everything this award stands for. I can’t wait to see the impact Jessica will continue to make as a leader for the next generation. Congratulations again, this recognition is well deserved!”

In addition to Jessica, four other students in Spherion’s community were also honored with $5,000 scholarships.

For more information on Spherion in Fort Myers, visit www.spherion.com/fortmyers.

For more information on the Sandy Mazur Excellence in Leadership Scholarship, visit spherion.com/scholarship.

About Spherion

Transform your workforce with Spherion Staffing & Recruiting, where local expertise meets national connections. For more than 75 years, we've been strategically helping businesses and job seekers thrive across America. Backed by the world’s most equitable and specialized talent company, our network of independent franchisees brings personalized service to 200+ communities, connecting more than 4,000 businesses with exceptional candidates through temporary, temp-to-hire, direct hire, and on-site hiring solutions. Our commitment to being a premier staffing partner shows through results: Our 4.8/5 national Google review rating and recognition as a Top 10 Staffing Company to Work for by World Staffing Awards, plus inclusion on Franchise Business Review’s Top 200 Franchises and a #68 ranking on Entrepreneur magazine's 2025 Franchise 500 list. Partner with Spherion to strengthen your business or transform your career.

About the Richland County Foundation

The Richland County Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization, was established in 1945 as a way for individuals to pool and invest their gifts for the long-term good of Richland County (Ohio) and its residents.

The Foundation helps people in Richland County give back to their community by investing their gifts for charity wisely so that grants can be made to improve the quality of life for all the county’s citizens. Working together with donors, the Foundation meets important needs today and plans for a strong future.

For more information about the Richland County Foundation, please visit https://www.richlandcountyfoundation.org/.