The Iowa Community Colleges Support The Way Up Scholarship Fund was established in 2016 to provide support for a deserving Iowa Community College woman who would not otherwise be able to attend The Way Up annual conference. Iowa Community Colleges wish to encourage deserving women employed by Iowa Community Colleges to participate in The Way Up conference to enhance and strengthen their leadership skills. The Scholarship will cover conference registration and one night's stay in the conference hotel.
Eligibility
Women employed by an Iowa Community College seeking professional development for formal and informal leadership and administrative positions in higher education may apply or be nominated for this scholarship award. The focus this year is on socioeconomic diversity to provide a woman employed by an Iowa Community College who has or is presently overcoming significant financial hardship to reach her current position the opportunity to participate in The Way Up Conference. Alternatively, the applicant could be someone who can show they have lent a hand through mentoring or community leadership to support other Community College women struggling to overcome financial hardship.
Process
Nominations or applications should include the name, address, phone number and email address of the candidate, a one page statement addressing the woman's skills and abilities as a Community College leader and what she hopes to gain from participation in this conference. After selection, the scholarship recipients must submit the text of a three minute presentation to be made at the Thursday lunch. The topic of the presentation will be "Thriving Together in a Landscape of Change - A Community College Perspective."
Send Scholarship Award materials to:
Christine Howard
Indian Hills Community College
Keokuk County Service Center
909 East Pleasant Valley Street
Sigourney, Iowa 52591
641-622-3385 ext. 1961
Christine.Howard@indianhills.edu
Due: Electronic submission only no later than October 10, 2023.
Notification will be made on or about October 20, 2023.
Contributions
The Way Up Planning Council encourages all women leaders to "invest in ourselves"! Please consider making a donation to our scholarship fund. This Community College scholarship makes it possible for deserving Iowa Community College women to attend this conference when they would not have been able to otherwise.
Here is what the 2021 recipient had to say about her experience:
"I am so grateful and honored to have received the Way Up Scholarship. Receiving the scholarship allowed me to attend the conference and meet all kinds of incredible and inspiring women from all over the state of Iowa. My time at the conference was so rewarding and I took so much away from the conference that I can not only apply to my professional life but also my personal life. I’m so happy I was introduced to this conference, I cannot wait to attend many more The Way Up Conferences in the future!" Mary Clark (Indian Hills Community College)
The 2019 recipient had this to say about her experience:
"I want to thank the Way Up Conference for the scholarship to the wonderful two day conference. It was an amazing two days of collaborating with other women and learning new strategies in addition to gaining information about our next generation of students coming forward into our colleges. The wealth of knowledge gained in this small amount of time will be beneficial in my current career and in the future. Thank you again and I look forward to attending this conference in the future and hope to bring other’s along too." Christine Howard (Indian Hills Community College)
Here is what the 2018 recipient had to say about her experience:
"I want to thank The Way Up Conference Committee for selecting me as the recipient of the 2018 “Iowa Community Colleges Support The Way Up” Scholarship. Without this wonderful opportunity, I would have missed out on the best conference that I have ever attended. I enjoyed the engaging and relevant presentations, opportunities to network with women at all stages of their careers, and the DELICIOUS food! I hope to be able to attend again next year!" Ashley Claussen (Indian Hills Community College)
Individuals who wish to make contributions to the Scholarship Fund may do so by sending them to:
Doreen Hayek
ATTN: The Way Up Scholarships
UNI
120 ITTC Building
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0301
Checks should be made payable to The Way Up Conference.