2014 Scholarship Luncheon: A Truly Special Event

By Alexis Babb, former scholarship recipient

2014 Scholarship Recipients

Pictured Above: 2014 scholarship recipients honored at the luncheon. Below: Alexis Babb 2012 recipient.

If someone had told me two years ago that by clicking “submit” on a scholarship application I’d found online that I would later join a network of amazing and talented professional women and together, find the bay area’s best talent and recruit scholarship applicants, I would have waived my hand in disbelief. However, life has a funny way of surprising us; specifically, life’s smallest moments (or so we thought) have the largest impact in our lives. Two years ago this past spring, I applied for the 2012 FWSF Scholarship (one of many scholarships I applied for) and was fortunate enough to be selected as a scholarship recipient. A few months ago, I sent a quick e-mail inquiring about volunteer opportunities with the FWSF and a few weeks and phone calls later, was offered the position of Team Lead for Santa Clara University and San Jose State University (which was a role I fell in love with and hope to do so again next year). As a result, my experiences as a former scholarship recipient and Team Lead made this year’s 2014 Scholarship Luncheon a truly special event for me because I have come “full circle” in the scholarship process.

Alicia Luqman and FWSF Members Sitting in the audience, I smiled from ear to ear listening to these ambitious and accomplished young women share their story and dreams with us. While they all have their own unique perspective and experiences that have shaped them, they all share a passion for leadership and service that is so contagious one can’t help but feel inspired because these women are going to be major game-changers in the field of finance and beyond. For instance, I recall hearing Alia Luqman tell the audience about how her experience working with low income women as a social worker have encouraged her to start a non-profit later in her career that teaches these women how to set goals, find employment, manage budgets and save money so they can not only make their own lives better, but improve the chances of success for their children and future generations.