McHenry County College Names 2021 Education To Empowerment Scholarship Recipients

Press release from the McHenry County College:

July 28, 2021

Six McHenry County College (MCC) students recently received the prestigious Education to Empowerment (E2E) award, a scholarship and mentoring opportunity for women offered through the Friends of MCC Foundation. The scholarship's mission is to empower women to reach their fullest potential and achieve economic independence through education, mentoring, and financial support.

“We’re very excited to recognize this year’s group of E2E scholarship recipients,” said Jessica Rizza, development coordinator for the Foundation. “Each of these women are focused on helping others and truly making a difference in their community. We are proud to call them MCC students and congratulate them on this tremendous achievement.”

The 2021 recipients are Leilani Carreno and Peyton Reed of Huntley; Edith Sanchez of Harvard; Sarah Schuetzle and Hannah Schuetzle of Crystal Lake; and Laura Wacaser of McHenry.

The recipients and their career plans are as follows:

• Leilani Carreno plans to study communication sciences and disorders at the University of Iowa. She hopes to become a speech therapist working with young children.
• Peyton Reed dreams of becoming a physician’s assistant specializing in either reconstructive surgery or women’s health. She would like to travel the world and be involved in programs such as Doctors Without Borders.
• Edith Sanchez wants to help students achieve their dreams by becoming a college advisor. She currently serves as the MCC Student Trustee and President of the Latinos Unidos club on campus, and also works as a contracted singer across the Chicagoland area.
• Sarah Schuetzle plans to become a high school English teacher and coach high school sports. A life-long athlete, she believes athletics is an important tool that teaches students how to work as a team and set goals for achievement.
• Hannah Schuetzle is following her life-long dream of becoming an elementary school teacher. She has a passion for helping others and working with children, and hopes to help her future students become the best version of themselves.
• Laura Wacaser’s goal is to use her interests in science and process optimization to become a chemical engineer. She dreams of helping others, giving more than she takes, and using her education to do as much as she can for her community.

To qualify for the award, applicants must be full-time students who have achieved sophomore status and earned a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.25. Applicants must also complete several essays outlining their personal goals, barriers they have overcome to pursue their education, and the difference that a mentor could make in their lives.

The Education to Empowerment scholarship began in 2013 with the goal of bringing together 100 influential women in McHenry County who wanted to make a difference by providing scholarships and mentoring opportunities for female MCC students. Each woman donates $1,000 each year. To date, the E2E program has awarded $420,000 in scholarships to 47 female MCC students.

“We’re so thankful to the generous women in McHenry County who donate their time and resources to make this possible,” said Rizza. “It’s truly wonderful to see women supporting women.”

“Education to Empowerment is about so much more than a scholarship,” added Christina Haggerty, vice president of marketing, communications, and development at MCC. “It’s about developing relationships between women across the community. We are making a lifetime commitment to these students, which will help them—and in turn help our community—in a broader way than a pure fundraising effort alone could do.”

The E2E scholarship provides $10,000 in funding for each student that can be applied toward tuition, books, and fees for a recipient’s last year at MCC and first year at an accredited four-year institution.

This year’s recipients will be honored at a ceremony on July 29 at MCC.

For information about Education to Empowerment or other scholarships, call the Friends of MCC Foundation Office at (815) 479-7529.

This press release was produced by the McHenry County College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.