Deb Melton
The 11th annual The Women of Quail Creek (TWOQC) Scholarship Awards Celebration was held May 13 at the Madera Clubhouse. TWOQC members, community leaders, residents, and scholarship recipients with their families gathered in the ballroom and watched 25 young women awarded scholarships of $3,500 each.
TWOQC awards three types of scholarships:
1. High School (HS): scholarships to young women graduating from Rio Rico, Sahuarita, and Walden Grove High Schools
2. PATH (Progress, Access, Tenacity and Hope): Second year scholarships to prior high school scholarship recipients
3. AWE (Advancing Women through Education): Scholarships to women over 21 resuming their education to acquire degrees or certification.
Since 2016, TWOQC has awarded 152 scholarships with a cumulative total of $428,700!
And this year for the first time, Isabela Lisco, a KOLD Channel 13 education reporter, was there to cover the event, filming the ceremony and interviewing Deb Melton, Director of Scholarships, HS recipient Charlotte Robles, and AWE recipient Claudia Hyde. The segment aired on KOLD’s local news in May.
Charlotte Robles is a Sahuarita HS senior who will attend the U of Arizona and major in Veterinary Science, specializing in large animals. She loves horses and is an accomplished equestrian. She was on the Varsity Girls Golf Team for three years, senior class treasurer, on the student council, and in the National Honor Society. She was also on the Gold Honor Roll for three consecutive years and achieved a 4.06 weighted GPA. The challenges her family faced have taught Charlotte independence, resilience, and persistence.
Claudia Hyde, a mother and grandmother, worked full-time at the VA Hospital in the Hospice Care unit for seven years. Claudia was recently honored for her exceptional dedication to patients by Tucson’s 5 of 50, which recognizes medical professionals for excellence. She is enrolled full time to become an RN at Cochise College in Sierra Vista, and is grateful for this scholarship, because she will need to cut her work hours to fulfil her nursing program requirements over the next year. ” The work of the Women of Quail Creek Scholarship program is changing lives!” she said.
Earlier this year, The Women of Quail Creek affiliated with the Greater Green Valley Community Foundation (GGVCF) and is proud to be part of this organization supporting local nonprofits. Steve Oesterie, President of GGVCF and on the Continental District School Board, attended the Awards Ceremony and said “The contribution The Women of Quail Creek are making to our community is not going unnoticed. You are truly making a difference in our community.” It was the first time he attended and said it wouldn’t be the last.
As director of the TWOQC Scholarship Committee, I am honored to be part of what we have accomplished, and to serve with such talented and caring committee members. It is their dedication to supporting women in their educational pursuits, along with the donations from our community, that make it possible to help women further their education.
For more information contact scholarships@womenqc.com.