King's student wins the Live Your Dream Award

By Rachel Ganzewinkel, Communications intern

At Lunafest – a travelling film festival celebrating short films by and for women – held at King’s University College May, 3, 2017 Leia Beland-Rawson was awarded the “Live Your Dream award” by Soroptimist International London. Beland-Rawson is a fourth-year Bachelor of Social Work student at King’s and mother of five children. She was recommended for the scholarship by Life*Spin, a non-profit organization in London, Ont.

The award provides women who serve as the primary wage earners for their families with the financial resources to offset costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education or additional skills and training. This is the second year in a row in which a King’s student has received the award.

Beland-Rawson feels, “celebrated and supported by Sylvia Wright [from Soroptimist International London], and the group as a whole.” Beland-Rawson also noted, “I felt really proud to have my children at the ceremony. It is a wonderful award that makes a lot of difference to the women who receive it, and not just monetarily, but the chance to be recognized is special. Thank you."

Soroptimist is a women’s organization made up of volunteers dedicated to improving the lives of girls and women through programs that lead to social and economic empowerment. Soroptomist especially focuses on giving girls and women access to education because this has been shown to be the most effective means to self-determination.

Congratulations, Leia!

Learn more about the School of Social Work at King’s.

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