Local PEO chapter awards $2,500 scholarship

PEO Chapter AZ presented the Star Scholarship Tuesday to Baylee Miller, a recent graduate of Havre High School.

Baylee, daughter of Becky Miller and Justin Miller of Havre, is also the granddaughter of Donna Mangold, a long-time PEO Chapter AZ member.

Baylee was a very active student at Havre High School. Band, tennis, drama and dance were just a few of her activities. Baylee will be attending Montana State University in Bozeman this fall. She will be starting out with a concentration in biochemistry and will also be in the marching band there.

"Baylee perfectly personifies the type of young lady that this scholarship is meant to recognize," said Judi Dritshulas, a member of PEO Chapter AZ. "Out of 2000 applicants only 700 scholarships were awarded. The caliber of applicants is very high, which makes this an even higher honor for Baylee."

P.E.O. was founded Jan. 21, 1869, by seven students at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Their desire to start their own sisterhood was a result of the exclusion of some of the friends by the local sorority at their college. This circle of kindred spirits - bonded by their enthusiasm for women's opportunities - eventually expanded to include women off campus as well. Today, P.E.O. has grown from that tiny membership of seven to nearly a quarter of a million members in chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada.

True to the mission of promoting educational opportunities for women, education continues to be the primary philanthropy of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. In fact, the P.E.O. Sisterhood proudly sponsors six international philanthropies, or projects, designed to assist women with their educational goals.

The P.E.O. STAR Scholarship is a highly competitive onetime $2,500 scholarship recognizing graduating high school senior women who demonstrate outstanding leadership, academic achievement, extracurricular

activities, and community service and who plan to pursue full or part-time post-secondary education in the United States or Canada beginning in the fall following their high school graduation. The P.E.O. STAR Scholarships are given once each year for the ensuing academic year. The number of scholarships given is in accordance with the annual funds available.

People are encouraged to read about these opportunities on the group's public webpage at http://www.peointernational.org/.