15 Women Honored With $25,000 Live Your Dream Awards

• Kayleigh Cameron is one of the 15 women honored with the Live Your Dream awards
• The awards amount to $25,000 and were presented at a luncheon organized by Soroptimist International of Poway
• These women are juggling their responsibilities of caregiving and education

At a Soroptimist International of Poway sponsored recent luncheon that honored 15 women with $25,000 in Live Your Dream awards, Kayleigh Cameron was one of the honorees and was awarded $1,000 towards her education.

The Live Your Dream award allows women who struggle with education while raising their family to pursue their future educational goals. "I was in the process of taking pre-med courses at Grossmont along with taking care of my daughter," said Kayleigh, who also has a professor that describes her as "a highly motivated, disciplined student with strong leadership abilities, and has a commitment to help others achieve."

Kayleigh spoke to the attendees at The Heights Golf Club on March 14. Cameron stated "my motivation for finishing my education and reaching my goals has come through my daughter."

The Live Your Dream awards, which can range from $1,000 to $4,000, are provided through the Soroptimist International of Poway and are part of a global effort to assist women and girls to gain access to education and training to achieve financial independence.

Janice Takade a member of the Poway Soroptimist Club states that these awards are an incentive for recipients to continue their education despite the barriers that prevent them from obtaining their degree. This gives recipients an opportunity to have long-term goals in their life.

The Celebration of Courage fundraiser (which included a lunch, a silent auction, and games) was co-hosted by both the North San Diego Soroptimist’s and Poway Soroptimist’s. This year’s fundraiser is on October 4th and will include funds to support the scholarships listed above but also provide transitional housing for women.

Donica Carabajal, another award recipient said, this program has been very helpful to her as she continues to get an education after overcoming substance abuse problems.

Donica is a single mom of two children and she plans on using the funds from this award to help her continue her education, first at San Diego City College, and later at San Diego State University. She plans to major in Social Work, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse.

She wants to work in Child Welfare ultimately, and in the long run she intends to go to law school and work in the juvenile court system. Donica is very interested in social work as a career since it offers many different types of careers.