LANSING, Mich. — Three women who see education as the direct path to a new career have been selected winners of the 2019 LAFCU Women Helping Educate Every Lady, or W.H.E.E.L., Scholarship Essay Contest.
The winners are Ericka González of Owosso; Kathleen Kelly of Holt, and Samantha Lee of Fowlerville. Each has received a $1,000 scholarship to attend Lansing Community College (LCC). This is the fifth year W.H.E.E.L. scholarships have been awarded, providing a total of $15,000 in scholarships to 15 women.
“This scholarship was founded in response to stories of women who needed higher education for re-employment or to move into new careers to improve their lives and those of their families,” said Kelli Ellsworth Etchison, LAFCU chief marketing officer. “Coincidentally, this year’s winners are all pursuing a common passion of caring for others through a nursing vocation. Ericka, Kathleen and Samantha have each had emotional and moving experiences that resulted in a calling to serve others. They demonstrate it’s never too late to pursue a new career, and that it’s not starting over, but building upon one’s past to create a better future. LAFCU is proud to help in the journey.”
Winners were determined by their one-page essay about their career choice and inspiration to pursue that career.
LAFCU’s W.H.E.E.L. program encourages women to pursue the education needed to enter or re-enter the workforce or to advance their careers. Applicants must have been a resident of Michigan, LAFCU’s geographical service area. The scholarships support the credit union’s long-standing ‘people helping people’ mission.