Three National P.E.O. STAR Scholarships awarded to WHS Class of 2020

The prestigious P.E.O. Star Scholarship will be awarded to three young women from the 2020 graduating class of Washington High School. This $2,500 scholarship is being given this spring to 880 students from the U.S. and Canada. This award recognizes students who exhibit excellence in leadership, academics, extracurricular activities, community service and potential for future success.

Each PEO Chapter may nominate only one student for this award and for the third time, each applicant from Washington's three P.E.O. Chapters was successful in receiving this scholarship. Washington's Star Scholars are: Ellie Bell, nominated by Chapter J of Washington; Kinsey Duwa, nominated by Chapter OC of Washington and Leah Marek, nominated by Chapter MX of Washington.

PEO is an international women's organization of nearly 250,000 members, founded in 1869 as a seven-member sorority at nearby Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant. The Civil War had just ended, and settlement of the western United States was rapidly expanding. Women at this time did not have the right to vote and advanced education for women was still not widespread.

This small beginning did not prevent PEO from succeeding as an organization and promoting educational opportunities for women. To date, over $366 million dollars have been awarded to over 113,000 women from PEO's 6 educational projects. For more information about this scholarship or other projects, visit P.E.O.'s website - www.peointernational.org or contact any member of P.E.O.