Neilson receives P.E.O. STAR Scholarship

Annabelle Neilson, a senior at Lakeside High School, received the P.E.O. STAR Scholarship at the May 15 meeting of the Hot Springs Village Chapter DE of P.E.O. from Alice Pokorny and Anne Kiessling.

Neilson, the daughter of Mary Zunick and Robert Neilson, will attend Hendrix College this fall and plans to study biology.

The $2,500 P.E.O. STAR Scholarship is based on excellence in leadership, extracurricular activities, community service, academics and potential for future success. 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 a P.E.O. chapter.

The P.E.O. Sisterhood, founded Jan. 21, 1869, at Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, is an international philanthropic and educational organization that 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 also 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, Mo., a news release said.

Email Kiessling at dbkies035@suddenlink.net or visit http:// www.peointernational.org for more information on the P.E.O. STAR Scholarship.