The Council for Women’s Concerns (CWC)/Marion Sonnenfeld Scholarship, which recognizes outstanding female students who exemplify leadership, hard work and a good sense of community, were recently presented to undergraduate students Giovanina Vancheri, Ariel Davis and Kaycie Malyk.
The scholarship was established through the Fredonia College Foundation. The Council for Women’s Concerns awarded the 2019-2020 scholarships at its annual ceremony held recently at the Alumni House.
Ms. Vancheri is a senior majoring in Communication: Journalism and minoring in Creative Writing. She balances her time as a member of Fredonia’ Honors program and the Keeper of the Dream Scholarship and Leadership program with her work as a Resident Assistant, staff writer for The Leader, and her roles as the president of Unione Italiana, vice president of the Society of Professional Journalists and Public Relations director of WNYF-TV. She has been recognized with several awards including the Geico Achievement Award and the SUNY Fredonia President’s Scholarship. This past summer, she completed an internship in the news department of WHEC-TV in Rochester, N.Y., and currently has a social media internship at the Fredonia Office of Financial Aid. Her career goal is to become a broadcast journalist.
Ms. Davis is a senior, earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration: Marketing with a minor in Sports Management. She is very active in extracurricular activities as a member of the Fredonia Dance Team and vice president of Future H.E.R. of Enactus which works with the Girl Scouts of Western New York to empower young girls and teach them leadership skills. She was the Project Lead for Chautauqua Love, which partners with Chautauqua County to conduct research on incentive programs to attract young professionals to the area. Ms. Davis is also an intern in marketing and outreach for the Chautauqua Coalition for Women and Girls for their Women2Women program, pairing college young women with established women in the community who coach them to reach their goals. Her career goal is to work in marketing and sales.
Ms. Malyk is earning a degree in Chemistry. In the fall of 2017, she received the General Chemistry Award for having the best overall academic performance. She has served as a teaching assistant in chemistry lectures and laboratories, and won a teaching award. Ms. Malyk also received the Gavin Family Scholarship in fall of 2018. Last summer, she attended the highly competitive Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REI) program at Duquesne University in inorganic chemistry. She plans to apply for doctoral programs in this field.
Dr. Sonnenfeld taught German as a member of the Fredonia faculty for 25 years. She was named a SUNY Distinguished Professor and became the first female Dean of Arts and Humanities at Fredonia. Dr. Sonnenfeld carried the virtues of her parents of loving life, being a faithful and loyal friend, having an outstanding work ethic and taking pride in her work.
The Council for Women’s Concerns seeks to help ensure a productive educational and work environment for faculty and staff at Fredonia, particularly in areas related to women's concerns. It focuses on general issues of campus climate and programs as they affect faculty and staff, and on policies and procedures that affect women on campus. Functioning as an advisory group, the CWC acts as a liaison between Fredonia employees and campus administration on matters of university policy and procedure related to women’s concerns. The CWC will begin accepting scholarship applications from students for the 2020-2021 academic year in the Spring 2020 semester. Female students with at least sophomore standing and with at least one full academic year remaining before graduation may apply. Visit online for more information. Additional information found on the council’s website online.
