Scholarship honors North Marion High grad for leadership
Jun. 16—FAIRMONT — A recent North Marion High graduate is now part of an international sisterhood.
Sophia Cottrell was recently awarded a $2,500 college scholarship from the Philanthropic Educational Organization Sisterhood.
P.E.O., which is based in Des Moines, Iowa, is dedicated to helping women meet their educational goals. It is an international organization with more than 20 chapters across West Virginia. Every year, since 2009, they award $2,500 STAR Scholarships to students who fit certain criteria. Recipients must be "Exceptional women in their final year of high school to attend an accredited postsecondary educational institution in the United States or Canada." The scholarship is awarded to young women who are leaders in their school, according to Jean Bolyard, who is a member of the R Chapter of P.E.O Sisterhood and sits on its Education Board.
Cottrell was selected because she truly stood out, Bolyard said.
"Her enthusiasm, her positivity and her empathy for other people just [impressed] me and the other members of the committee. She was able to look at any situation that came her way and make lemonade out of lemon," Bolyard said.
Cottrell was student body vice president at Marion County Technical Center, where she graduated as a double completer in the Law and Public Safety program and the Business and Marketing program and also served as a teacher's aid and tour guide. She was the social media and technology manager for the North Marion football team. And, throughout high school, she coached U-10 and U-5 youth soccer teams and moved up with them as their coach, as they aged.
She also founded the first student-led community club — R.O.C., which stands for Respect Our Community, a service organization that helps students receive community service hours. She planned two volunteer projects for the R.O.C., one included making more than 30 handmade twist-tied blankets for the Shinnston Animal Shelter and the second was preparing self-care packages for community members in need or experiencing homelessness. Cottrell passed the leadership role to two juniors and said they had an additional 20 students sign up on Step Up Day.
Cottrell said the scholarship process was lengthy and included three essays with no word limit, so she's proud to be the recipient of the award.
"I feel very honored. I was very excited. I knew I had a lot of competition, especially when I found out it wasn't just a West Virginia Scholarship. I had wonderful ladies helping me and working with me. ... I read and told teachers that were waiting to see if I would get it. It was definitely an achievement I felt I worked very hard for — something I worked hard and put in the effort to get," Cottrell said.
She plans to attend West Virginia University where she recently attended new student orientation day. She will major in psychology and minor in political science. Then, she will attend law school at WVU. Her career goal is either to be a political crisis attorney or forensic psychologist for the military.
Cottrell also wants to expand her service organization to WVU and hopes to continue growing it to help out the entire state of West Virginia.
"I like to make a lot of contacts whether it's people that work around here or people from across the state just to see how far I can get my ideas to go. I just don't want to help around here, I want to see how far I can get across West Virginia," Cottrell said.
The P.E.O. Sisterhood started with a bond of friendship among seven women in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Now, it's one of the oldest women's organizations in North America, with close to 5,800 chapters. Bolyard said there are several other opportunities for women, such as the PCE Grant, which provides a grant to women who have been out of college for two or more years, but want to go back to school. For more information, visit their website.
Reach me at sshriver@timeswv.com or
304-367-2549.
