Scholarship Fund of the Minneapolis Branch of AAUW
Scholarships
Annually, the Scholarship Fund of the Minneapolis Branch of AAUW offers two four-year scholarships to young women graduating from a Minneapolis Public High School with a G.P.A. of at least 3.0, a documented financial need and with the goal of attaining a Baccalaureate degree at an accredited institution.
Beginning in 2018, scholarship recipients will receive $4,000 annually. If the scholar is a student in good academic standing at her college or university, the scholarship will be renewed each of the following three years. The maximum that each scholar could receive is $16,000 over 4 years.
Also beginning in 2018, a Named Scholarship, the Nadia Christensen AAUW Minneapolis Scholarship was first awarded. This scholarship has the same criteria as our other scholarships and will be offered only every four years. The amount of this scholarship is ten percent greater than our other scholarships. 2024 saw the addition of the Ginny Craig Legacy Scholarship in loving memory of our past president.
Applications for 2024 are available in the counseling offices of the Minneapolis Public High Schools or at www.minneapolis-mn.aauw.net. Completed applications may be entered online at https://minneapolis-mn.aauw.net/scholarship-outreach/scholarships/ to the AAUW Minneapolis Branch or sent by email to the following address aauw.mpls.scholarship.application@gmail.com by Friday, February 21, 2024. All twelve members of the Scholarship Board read each application to determine the finalists who will be interviewed. The selection criteria are based on grades, financial need, an essay written by the applicant, information from references, and an interview. Finalists are interviewed in late March or early April by three board members. The recipients are notified no later than May 1.
History
The Scholarship Fund of the Minneapolis Branch was established to provide financial assistance to Minneapolis Public School women graduates to continue their education with the goal of attaining a Baccalaureate degree at an accredited institution. The fund has come a long way in a very short time. The first four-year scholarship was awarded in 2001. In 2012 we established an endowment fund and have achieved a balance of over $500,000 so that we began using the earnings to fund at least one scholar per year. In 2024 we awarded 5 new scholarships. The scholarships are funded by donations from AAUW members and friends. We have now given 4 years of scholarship to 46 young women from Minneapolis Public Schools (over $736,000 in total).
Congratulations Scholars!
2024 Scholars right to left:
Jessica Loma, Deena Maier, Emily Selchow, Silja Bijnagte, Heidy Rivera
Lily Anderson (South High) and Erika Patino Molina (Southwest High) are our 2021 scholarship winners.
Kao Chang (Henry High) and Eleanor Craig (Edison) are the winners of our 2020 Scholarships.
Scholarship Fund Board Members
Ginny Craig, President
Cindy Matsumoto, Secretary
Rae Cornelius, Treasurer
DeDe Scanlon
Janice Bobrowske
Laura Murphy
Lenesa Leana
Nan Beman
Nancy Azzam
Nikki Annoni
Peggy Pluimer
