Coastline College Inspiring Female Students are Recipients of the 'Live Your Dream Award'

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Feb. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Coastline College is proud to announce that a special group of inspiring and determined female students are recipients of the Live Your Dream Award by Soroptimist International, a global volunteer organization that provides women with opportunities to help achieve economic empowerment.  Soroptimist's Live Your Dream Awards program is a unique education award that provides financial grants to help improve the education, skills, and employment prospects for women who are the primary financial support for their families and have showed the courage to change their lives.

It has not been an easy path for many of these women like Connie, Crystal, Gina, Jessica, Katherine, Lolita, Megan, and Xuan.  They are single moms who have prevailed as they struggled to find stability while battling trauma and hardships such as dysfunctional childhoods, sexual assault, abusive relationships, substance abuse, mental health issues, being first generation immigrants and poverty.  These incredibly motivated women have turned their lives around to build a better life for themselves and their children. They are persevering and working towards productive bright futures by choosing career paths that reflects their desires to change their past, to make a difference, and give back to their communities.

Connie wants to help special needs children, Crystal wants to be a psychologist to help those through emotional issues, and Gina is studying to become a nurse to work in a children's hospital. Jessica who was incarcerated and pregnant wants to set a positive example for her daughter, and Katherine who was in an abusive relationship is now thriving as she has improved her situation for her three kids.  Lolita wants to show others a path out of poverty through education and provide legal representation for those who need it. Megan wants a bright future for her daughter while she is pursuing a science degree in computer networking and Xuan, an immigrant from Vietnam and single mom, is pursuing a degree as a clinical laboratory scientist so she can help improve her community's health conditions. 

Dana Emerson, Dean of Instruction at Coastline College, Westminster campus, who is a member of the Westminster Soroptimist Club, helped establish a workshop a few years ago for those in need female students at Coastline to write an essay for the Soroptimist Live Your Dream Award.  Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) staff identify students and invite them to the essay writing workshop, provided by the Soroptimist OC Collaborative to apply for the award. 

"As a member of Soroptimist and a Dean at Coastline, I see the benefit of partnering with volunteer organizations to support students in successfully completing their educational goals.  In this partnership, students share that they have a need and the Soroptimist work to address their needs in ways that the College can't, like provide cash awards. I am happy that this partnership is being highlighted and celebrated because student success involves support from our communities as well as the support from Coastline."

Nationally, each year the Live Your Dream Award provides more than $2.8 million in education grants to nearly 1,700 women.

About Coastline College:
Coastline College is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.  For eight consecutive years, Coastline College was selected as one of the top 150 colleges by The Aspen Institute for Community College Excellence which is considered the most prestigious designation for community colleges. Coastline delivers flexible courses and services that cultivate and guide diverse student populations across the globe to complete pathways leading to the attainment of associate degrees, certificates, career readiness, and transfer to four-year colleges/universities.  Coastline currently offers more than 250 online and other distance education courses. 

CONTACT: Dawn Willson, [email protected], 714-241-6186

SOURCE Coastline College