The Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic is a community-based organization encompassing the Glendale, Burbank, La Cañada, La Crescenta, Sunland and Tujunga areas, with member volunteers from any of the 26 sororities recognized by the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC). Established in 1947, the group’s charter is to support today’s young women from our area in their pursuit of higher education.

Scholarship awards of varying amounts were recently awarded to several high school senior women who are planning to attend a four-year college or university in the fall, as well as to eligible area college women who are active members in good standing of an NPC sorority.  The Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic sponsors an annual benefit luncheon to raise money for the scholarship awards, which include merit-based scholarships and the Mary Ellen Gilstrap Memorial Scholarship.

In 2017, a multiple Mary Ellen Gilstrap Memorial Scholarship awards were given. Gilstrap was a member of the Chi Omega sorority at UC Berkeley and a member of Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic for 18 years who passed away in 2005. Each year, the top scholarship applicant receives this award, and is chosen based on Gilstrap’s ideals.  

Olivia Homan received the Mary Ellen Gilstrap Memorial Scholarship this year. Homan is a Glendale resident who will be a junior in at DePaul University in Chicago in the fall majoring in business administration, with plans to pursue a career in the entertainment or the fashion industry.  

Also receiving the Mary Ellen Gilstrap Memorial Scholarship was Amari Dennis, a 2017 graduate of Flintridge Preparatory School, who will be attending Tufts University and Kristen Laulette, a 2017 graduate of Glendale High School, who will be attending UCLA.  

Merit scholarship recipients who are members in good standing of an NPC sorority include 2015 La Cañada High School graduates Catharine Cea, who is a member of Delta Delta Delta at UC Santa Barbara and Sophia Lamb, who is a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at Clemson University.  From Crescenta Valley High School, 2015 graduate Kaley Pomeroy is a member of Pi Beta Phi at the University of Oregon, and 2016 graduate Christine Lockhart is a member of Sigma Kappa at Arizona State University.  Each recipient is active in her sorority and participates in a variety of campus and community activities.

The 2017 high school merit scholarship recipients include La Cañada High School graduates Amelia Bergen, who will attend the University of Puget Sound, Sarah Bhaskaran, who will attend UC Berkeley, Morgan Bowman, who will attend UC Davis, and Taleen Sarkissian, who will attend UC Irvine; Flintridge Preparatory School graduates Lilly Maxfield, who will attend UCLA, and Madelena Pawlek, who will attend Harvey Mudd College; Crescenta Valley High School graduates Jeong-A Cha, who will attend Azusa Pacific University, and Teny Khachadourian, who will attend USC; Village Christian School graduates Lauren Dyrness, who resides in Sunland and will attend Washington State University, and Julianne Misik who resides in Tujunga and will attend Point Loma Nazarene University.  Also receiving a merit scholarship was Glendale High School graduate Sarah Brown, who will attend Cal State University Long Beach.

For more information about Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic and its activities, visit www.glendalepanhellenic.org. NPC sorority alumnae are invited to attend any activities. Currently additional volunteers are being sought to become alumnae chapter delegates or individual members in the group. Any area young woman interested in information about NPC sorority recruitment for the fall 2017 or spring 2018 can find additional information on our website.