When Shawn Paschall lost her job to downsizing, she looked at the loss as an opportunity. Armed with a desire to be retrained in a field dear to her heart, she entered Glendale Community College’s program for health and fitness, focusing on children and seniors. She graduated from GCC with a GPA of 3.70, an achievement she attainted while attending school full time and performing as much volunteer work as possible. She has not yet decided to which four-year school she will apply.

Manifa Asheghian, 26, is also a re-entry student. She and her brother were raised by her grandmother but supported by her father, a building contractor, until jobs became scarce in that field. Completing her basic college requirements at GCC, Asheghian’s goal is to be accepted to CSUN, Cal Poly, or UCLA to earn a degree in engineering, which would enable her to provide for her family.

On June 15, the La Crescenta Woman’s Club helped these women toward achieving their future education goals by presenting each with a $500 scholarship. The annual presentations are for graduates of Glendale Community College.

Contributed by Gloria LEE

  Between Friends, GCC, JUNE 23