Mount Vernon resident Jennifer Grassbaugh received the Soroptimist Live Your Dream Award from the Soroptimist International of the Americas Midwestern Region, which covers six states. Earlier this spring, Grassbaugh won the first place Live Your Dream award from Soroptimist of Mount Vernon and Knox County, which made her eligible for the regional award.
“Our Mount Vernon Club is very proud that our award winner also won at the regional level,” said Becky Chamberlin, Live Your Dream award chair from the Mount Vernon club. “Jennifer has worked very hard for her family and her education, and she definitely deserves these awards.”
The Live Your Dream Award is given each year to women working toward higher education or additional skills training. These awards are not given to a traditional high school student getting ready to go to college. Instead, these awards go to women who are providing financial support for their families and are also reaching for their dreams.
Grassbaugh is studying at Mount Vernon Nazarene University and is working to get her teaching license. While attending college, she is also working in the schools and raising her children. It was her work in the schools that helped her recognize her passion for teaching and led her to work toward her teaching license.
When the Soroptimist Club of Mount Vernon and Knox County presented Grassbaugh with her first-place award earlier this spring, they also presented two other awards. Amanda Gibson received the second-place award and Tammy Butler received the third-place award. Gibson is studying social work at Mount Vernon Nazarene University and Butler is studying nursing at Central Ohio Technical College. Both are also working and raising their children while attending college.
Soroptimist International of the Americas is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. Since the inception of the Live Your Dream Award in 1972, more than $41 million has helped more than 41,000 women achieve their dreams.
