Geneva Announces Six Women of Excellence

BEAVER FALLS, PA (03/04/2015)(readMedia)-- Geneva College proudly announces the winners of the Women of Excellence Awards 2015. These six women of Beaver Falls will be recognized for great service, leadership, strength and spirit of excellence at an 11 a.m. brunch on Saturday, March 28, 2015.

The honorees are residents of the City of Beaver Falls who have been nominated and selected based on the way they give back, inspire others, demonstrate high moral standards as well as respect for themselves and others, and serve as a beacon of light or pillar of strength in their community.

Individuals interested in attending the Women of Excellence Brunch may reserve a seat for $12 by visiting Geneva.edu/womenofexcellence/brunch. Seating is limited and is expected to fill quickly.

Jaqueline Fullen serves as co-chairwoman of the city's Neighborhood Watch, is the fundraising chair for the Beaver Falls Branch of Carnegie Library, and makes and serves soup at the Beez Café. As a life member of Beaver Falls Christian Assembly Church, she has taught Sunday school for over 20 years, and was a co-initiator of the idea for the City Prayer Walks, now an annual tradition. She also serves on the board of Beaver County Cancer and Heart Association, where she began the annual Heart to Heart workshops.

Wendy Van Wyhe is the director of City House, a living-learning community of Geneva College students dedicated to integrating Beaver Falls. Wendy teaches these students by example to love the area, connect with neighbors, enhance the community, serve others, and break down social barriers. She holds an annual block party, helps residents on a daily basis and makes a difference in the lives of the neighborhood and students she brings there. She recruited five organizations to transform an area on 7th Avenue to a place of beauty, and she helped found the Beaver Falls Community Development Corporation.

Susan Smith is a mother figure for many in her community. After the passing of her husband, the late Melvin Smith, she raised her three daughters and now a granddaughter. Women of all ages look to her as a leader, as she serves on every committee at Second Baptist Church, mentors teens at Tiger Pause Ministry, and aids at-risk youth through Beaver County Rehabilitation Center (BCRC). She takes her family to Beaver Falls High School to serve the community Christmas dinner, and is always ready to extend a helping hand.

Jerryn Carson has been a dedicated neighbor for 34 years in Beaver Falls, where she looks for ways to serve behind the scenes. She cares for the Rails to Trails bike path, cleaning and maintaining a portion of the trail in order to promote a healthy lifestyle in Beaver Falls. She serves on the Christian Community Development group, board of Tiger Pause and served on the Beaver Falls Forever committee. She regularly supports and attends events put on by City House, and is active at SOMA church with her husband, Beaver Falls Councilman Doug Carson.

Two young women will also receive awards. Karolyn Williams, a 4.0 high school student already taking classes at Geneva College, won the Rosamond C. Kay Scholarship, the first in Beaver Falls to do so. She mentors through DARE 2XL, holds several leadership positions at Tabernacle Baptist Church, and visits residents of Providence Care Center. Alina Chemini, the other Young Woman of Excellence, has received honors including High Honor Roll, National Honor Society President, West Point Leadership Award and Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship, and she attended Westinghouse Science Honors Institute.

Geneva College invites students to step forward and leap ahead with an academically excellent, Christ-centered and affordable education. Offering nearly 40 undergraduate majors, Adult Degree Programs with fully online and campus-based options, and high-demand advanced graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top 10 Best Value with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the inerrancy of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world.