AAUW Ashland Scholarship Awards
AAUW Ashland’s scholarships are available to students enrolled at Ashland High School (AHS), Rogue Community College (RCC) and Southern Oregon University (SOU). Students apply for the AAUW Ashland Scholarship by using their school’s scholarship process and deadlines.
Our awards are prioritized to those in financial need, often identified as a first generation student just beginning their higher education journey; and/or a non-traditional student returning to higher education, after a break due to life circumstances and/or challenges. Support women in higher education at AHS, RCC and/or SOU by making a gift or donation.
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SOU Scholarships
Scholarships are awarded to full time SOU graduate or undergraduate female students of any age who have financial need and have demonstrated leadership in school and/or community activities, volunteer service, and/or employment, internship or work.
RCC Scholarships
Scholarships are awarded to female students with financial need in any field of study and of any age and have demonstrated leadership in community activities, volunteer service, and/or employment.
AAUW Ashland Scholars 2025-2026
Rogue Community College Scholars
Madison Herinckx is a nursing student at Rogue Community College. She began acquiring college prerequisites in high school. During her senior year of high school, Madison served as a Certified Nursing Assistant in the Intensive Care Unit during the Covid-19 pandemic. Madison then obtained her Associates of General Studies. She has built her healthcare experience across diverse settings, serving as a Certified Medical Assistant in Family Practice, Urgent Care, and now as a Certified Nursing Assistant on the Post Surgical Floor. Her goal is to graduate as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and then become licensed as a Nurse Practitioner.
“I grew up in a rural community with a struggling public school system. During highschool, I fought formy education; for the ability to obtain my CNA license and advanced my career, despite financial challenges. That experience taught me how persistence and determination can open doors regardless of the lack of resources. Serving the community as a volunteer in the Emergency Department and working in Urgent Care revealed the challenges the underserved community faces: especially lack of access and advocacy. These experiences have inspired me to become a nurse practitioner, to become a voice for my patients and help overcome such adversity.”
Alaa Karmi is completing an Associate of Arts / Oregon Transfer Degree at RCC; to transfer to SOU for a psychology degree. She is a first-generation Palestinian American who was born in New York. She moved to Southern Oregon in 2015, and it has been a life changing move for her. Her dream is to become a therapist and serve her community in a holistic and cooperative way. She loves working with plants, animals, and people. For the past two years she has volunteered with Indigenous groups to grow and save heirloom seeds for genetic preservation. After a long break, she has been able to go back to school and reach her goals of growth and personal fulfillment. On her days off she enjoys hiking, gardening, and spending time with her partner James and their dogs Tank and Iggy.
“Thankfully, attending college again has been a wonderful and deeply enriching experience. I feel fortunate to have this opportunity to acquire skills that will aid in my dedication to serving my community. Living in a natural setting has been incredibly healing and rewarding for me and I hope to incorporate nature, art, and positive community action in the process of mental health support.”
Fallon vanFossen is studying in the RCC Business Program, working towards a degree in accounting. While starting as a Marketing major, she quickly found that working with the numbers in business was more suited to her abilities. She is expected to graduate in 2026. Fallon ended her first year with a 3.98 GPA, while homeschooling her own children simultaneously. In addition, she taught Science to high school students in a local co-op setting for the past two years. She enjoys helping children reach their full potential, both educationally and in their personal lives.
“When my oldest son began RCC full time as a sophomore in high school, through an early college program, I was inspired by his dedication. It was then that I decided to pursue my own degree. Business has always been an interest of mine, but being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mother for the past 10 years, I was intimidated by the thought of returning to school. My family has been immensely supportive of my goals, offering encouragement at every turn. Attending college with my oldest son is an incredible experience, and I am excited to watch both of our futures unfold.”
Randi Kearney graduated from Rogue Community College’s LPN–RN Bridge Program with an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (ADN). She was a Certified Nursing Assistant at Rogue Valley Manor before earning her Licensed Practical Nurse credential in Fall 2021. She gained experience in Addiction Recovery, Long-term Skilled Nursing, and Cardiac Recovery, and discovered a deep passion for behavioral health and education. Randi works at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center as both a Behavioral Health floor nurse and an educator in Nursing Professional Development; as she provides crisis-intervention training and mentors new and experienced nurses. She is a Certified Nursing Assistant instructor at Pacific Healthcare Training. Randi will transition to a four-year university to complete her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and ultimately plans to earn her Nurse Practitioner (NP) license.
“Through bedside care and teaching, I have seen how mental-health crises affect patients, families, and entire communities. Leading crisis-intervention training at Asante has shown me the importance of rapid, compassionate response and of equipping staff to de-escalate safely. I have seen that nurses often face rising behavioral-health needs with limited resources and shifting public policy. These challenges drive me to strengthen teamwork, advocate for better mental-health access, and mentor future caregivers who can lead with empathy and skill. My ongoing education toward a BSN and NP license will expand my ability to influence policy and deliver holistic care, ensuring that vulnerable patients receive the consistent, dignified support they deserve.”
Southern Oregon University
Christina Berger is a graduate student in the online MBA program at SOU. She is awarded The Judy Yin Shih Scholarship. Christina earned her Bachelor of Science in Innovation and Leadership from SOU, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA and honors as a Phi Kappa Phi member. She currently serves as Grant Reporting Specialist at Southern Oregon Education Service District (SOESD), supporting K–12 systems in implementing inclusive, measurable, and career-aligned pathways. Her cross-sector leadership includes serving as the Student Representative on the SOU Board of Trustees, an ACC AmeriCorps Alumnus, and a founder of CBergerDesigns, a local screen printing and embroidery business that delivers stress-free, high-quality logo wear for professional organizations. She has contributed to statewide broadband equity efforts through roles with Oregon Humanities, Oregon State University’s Broadband Equity Coalition, NTEN, and the American Connection Corps.
“As a TRIO student at Rogue Community College, I became acutely aware of the systemic barriers that inhibit academic progression, particularly for rural and underrepresented populations. My undergraduate capstone revealed digital access as a critical determinant of success. That research sparked my commitment tobroadband equity and trauma-informed leadership. I aim to build resilient systems that empower individuals to thrive, regardless of geography or circumstance.”
Scarlet Celestino is a second-year graduate student in the Master in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at SOU. In 2024 she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and double minors in Gender, Sexuality, & Women’s Studies and Social Sciences from SOU. She is twice honored with the named Jim and Kate Wolf-Pizor Family Scholarship. She has volunteered lobbying for behavioral health funding, producing LGBTQ+ activism events, in leadership roles in the SOU Psychology Club and Queer Student Union, and as a research assistant. Scarlet recently started a counseling internship at Options, where she is eager to learn, develop professionally, and provide mental health services to our community.
“My education plan is to become a counselor specializing in gender affirming care. With this path, I hope to lessen stigma around mental health, and nontraditional gender identities. My research highlighted mental health disparities in the LGBTQ+ community, a topic gaining lots of evidence, but few solutions. I’m dismayed to see this vibrant community reduced to harrowing statistics. Thus, I am determined to continue studying LGBTQ+ mental health, contribute to research, and pay this forward. I will promote empathy and acceptance in my community and greater sociocultural network. I want to greet my clients as neighbors, not as numbers.”
Wendy Maynard is enrolled in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) master’s program at SOU and is a recipient of the Lang Family Scholarship. A long-time Ashland resident and single mother of two, Wendy returned to school for a second career as a Licensed Professional Counselor. She maintains a 4.0 GPA and recently began her internship at Kolpia Counseling Services, a community clinic serving vulnerable and underserved populations. Balancing graduate school and single motherhood, Wendy is dedicated to her coursework, raising her children with love and consistency, and giving back to Ashland through volunteering and training at Kolpia.
“I grew up in a home without financial or emotional stability, experiences that shaped my passion for the transformative power of therapy. Returning to school as a single parent has been humbling and demanding—juggling coursework, parenting, and finances—but it has been the most purposeful work of my life. This scholarship eases the heavy financial burden of graduate school and gives me the chance to more fully focus on my studies and clinical training. My goal upon graduation is to provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive care to people often left behind—women, LGBTQ+ clients, neurodivergent individuals, and low-income families in Southern Oregon.”
2025
Ashland High School (AHS)
Scholarship Award
It was a banner second year for our AHS scholarship award to a graduating senior girl who would be the first in her family to attend a four-year college or university and obtain a degree. A record ten girls applied for the scholarship, all with strong academic records, a long list of school and community activities, and stories of resilience.
Just as important, we doubled the donations to the AHS scholarship fund. The target had been $2,500, last year’s total, but thanks to a robust fund-raising effort, we raised $5,000! We ended up giving two awards, one for $3,000 and the second for $2,000.
Please meet the winners:
Nikaela Apilada, who likes running marathons, will tell you that what draws her to the sport is that it requires a combination of physical and mental preparation. “A marathon is like life with its ups and downs,” she adds. “Once you’ve done it, you feel that you can do anything.”
Nikaela imagines a career in the medical field, perhaps as a physical therapist focused on sports medicine. She has good grades, she is an athlete (cross country, track, basketball, golf), she is a leader — and for the past four years Nikaela has worked as a hostess and server at Martinos, logging over 2,500 hours.
What’s also important to know about Nikaela is that she is resilient. When she was nine and her parents could no longer take care of her, she moved in with her grandfather, who has raised her ever since. She describes herself as shy and awkward until she started making friends at Ashland High School. At the start of her senior year, however, she found herself the object of intense bullying and transferred temporarily to Phoenix high school, pulled herself back together there, and returned to finish at Ashland High.
Nikaela plans to attend Oregon State University and major in kinesiology. Our AAUW award ($3,000) “really helps me to achieve my goals,” she says. “I’m so excited for this next chapter.”
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Sharon Im stands out in so many ways. Academically, she’s at the top of her class, with a weighted GPA of 4.14 and 64 college/dual credits under her belt. She has been a leader in student government and various clubs at the high school, as well as making time for community service.
She will tell you, though, that what she has cared about most is helping out in her parents’ sushi restaurant in downtown Ashland, where she has worked as a hostess and waitress for 5 years. “I believe a big part of what has shaped me is working and seeing a side of the community that I had not witnessed before,” she says. “The opportunity to meet and serve so many caring and supporting people opened my eyes to the importance of community and the bonds people make with each other.”
Sharon has received a full scholarship to Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where she plans to study child psychology. As the second oldest of five girls, taking care of her younger siblings, she says, has been a gift and not a chore. AAUW’s $2,000 award, she is quick to say, will fill the cracks, including allowing her to make several cross-country trips to visit the family that means so much to her.
Barbara Cervone
AHS Scholarship Committee