A Gainesville High School graduate is the winner of the $2,500 Philanthropic Educational Organization scholarship for the coming school year.
Mary Nelson Bell is a 2019 graduate and the Class of '19 Salutatorian who plans to attend Georgia Tech and study Biomedical Engineering this fall. She is the daughter of Robert and Sarah Bell of Gainesville.
The P.E.O. STAR Scholarship is based on "excellence in leadership, extracurricular activities, community service, academics and potential for future success," according to a news release from the Gainesville City School System.
The program is open to young women who are citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States or Canada and who are graduating high school seniors at the time of application. A student must be recommended by her local P.E.O. chapter to be eligible for the scholarship. Bell was recommended by the Gainesville chapter.
ABOUT THE P.E.O. SISTERHOOD
The P.E.O. Sisterhood, founded January 21, 1869, at Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, is an international philanthropic and educational organization which promotes increased educational opportunities for women. There are nearly 6,000 local chapters in the United States and Canada with almost 250,000 initiated members. The P.E.O. Sisterhood has provided over $321 million in financial assistance to more than 105,000 recipients. The P.E.O. Sisterhood owns Cottey College, a fully accredited, private liberal arts and sciences college for women, with two-year and selected four-year programs, located in Nevada, Missouri.
