Lorraine McCormick Scholarship Award

The AWIS East Bay Scholarship Program strives to encourage and reward outstanding women pursuing degrees in science fields at East Bay colleges and universities. This year we have the honor of selecting up to three $1000 Scholarship Award recipients in memory of Lorraine McCormick, the mother of Sheila McCormick, an East Bay AWIS member.

The Scholarship Program supports community college, undergraduate, and graduate student women in the East Bay CA who are pursuing degrees in science fields. Scholarship funds may be used to support the advancement of their education: e.g. to support educational expenses, for professional advancement courses, to attend a professional conference or for purchasing equipment vital for supporting research.

Female-identifying students actively engaged in a degree program in upcoming academic year may apply. Applicants must be enrolled (or accepted by) an accredited college or university in the East Bay, CA.

The current round of applications for Fall 2020 is closed, stay tuned for the next round in 2021!

The Lorraine McCormick memorial scholarships were established in 2004 by Sheila McCormick, AWIS member and recipient of the 2002 Judith Pool Award.

Lorraine McCormick was born September 4, 1912 and died September 16, 2003. Her father died when she was 2. During the Depression, her mother had less than $10 cash after the bank failed, thus they had to sell their house in Farmersville, Illinois and move in with relatives who ran a hotel in Alton, Illinois. But they were able to keep the farm (40 acres), which another cousin farmed for them.

After finishing high school in 1931, Lorraine received a college scholarship, but there wasn’t enough money for her to attend, so she went to work as a secretary. She married in 1940; they had 4 daughters (born 1942, 1947, 1952 and 1955) – all finished college. “Thus, I know my mother would approve of my establishing this scholarship, funded from my part of the proceeds of selling her farm”.