NCCWSL 2022 Awards

by Jan Eriksen

The La Crosse Branch will be sponsoring two students with multi-cultural backgrounds to attend the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) this year. The conference will be virtual May 24-26. The students are Nyah Brooks and Supriya Daithankar. Nyah, nominated by Silvana Richardson, is a junior Nursing student at Viterbo University, with minors in Neuroscience and Sport Science. She is a peer mentor for underclassmen through the Viterbo Student Nurses Association as well as a peer tutor for a nursing class and a business writing class. She has worked part- time as a CNA since age 16. Nyah is a student-athlete on the Dance Team at Viterbo and an active volunteer with many community organizations. She has received several of our branch scholarships, attesting to her excellence as a scholar and a leader. In her application Nyah states, “My life began as an abandoned orphan in northern Vietnam, which led to my adoption at the age of nine months” by an American couple. Supriya is a student in IT-Web & Software program at Western. She has taught group dances to adults and children through the Cultural Heritage Association of India and is mentoring a new student as part of Western’s Mentor Collective. Her other volunteer activities include helping first graders with reading at Onalaska Eagle Bluff and selling tickets, coordinating parking, and cleaning up before and after games for the Rush Wisconsin Soccer Club. In her application, Supriya indicated that she would like to attend the conference because, “I want to develop my voice and leadership mindset … I will advocate for pay equity and for changes that will help improve women’s access to health care, child care and education.” She received the Kwik Trip IT Scholarship in January, 2022. Supriya was nominated by Ann Brice.