February 23, 2010

Springfield, IL – The Conference of Women Legislators (COWL) is accepting applications for its 2010-2011 Scholarship Award Program, which State Senator Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) said is intended to help women earn their college degrees.

“This scholarship program was created to help women who, in many cases, have not had the opportunity to pursue or complete their higher education due to life changes or financial limitations,” said Radogno. “A college degree is incredibly important, but the cost of pursing higher education can make that goal inaccessible for many students. The COWL scholarship is a great opportunity for any woman who is eager to earn a college degree, but needs some financial assistance.”

The $2,500 scholarship grant applies to all accredited Illinois colleges and universities. Qualified scholarship applicants must be enrolled in an accredited Illinois college or university for a minimum of seven credit hours, which allows part-time students to also apply for the scholarship. In addition to academic achievement, the scholarship committee will consider volunteer or paid community service work that benefited or promoted the welfare of women in transition.

Interested parties will be required to complete an official application which can be downloaded from the COWL Web site at www.cowlil.com. The application must be postmarked by April 9, 2010, and all awardees will be notified of the decisions by May 7, 2010.

The scholarship program was created as part of COWL’s mission to promote economic independence, community services and leadership development for deserving women seeking to earn a college degree.

The Conference of Women Legislators (COWL) is a not-for-profit organization and a bipartisan coalition of women legislators in the Illinois General Assembly.