2012 Girls Gone Great Scholarship Winner Announced

March 28, 2012 - PRLog -- WomanTalk Live (WTL) is pleased to announce Rupini Shukla, a senior at Oakland Mills High School, Columbia (Howard County), Maryland as the winner of the 2012 Girls Gone Great Scholarship Essay Contest.  Founded by Ann Quasman, host of Woman Talk Live radio and creator of Conscious Conversations Cafe, the scholarship awards Ms. Shukla with $2,000 toward her pursuit of continuing education.  The scholarship is made possible by Talkradio 680 WCBM and Raskin Global’s Women Getting Wise on Wealth.
   In addition to her academic excellence, Ms. Shukla has volunteered for the past four years at Teen Time, an after-school program for middle school children, where she advises students academically and socially while guiding them toward becoming productive and intelligent assets to their community. In 2011, she was honored as Howard County’s Youth Volunteer of the Year for her work with Teen Time.
   Of her volunteer distinction, Ms. Shukla says “That day, my happiness knew no bounds – I realized the magnitude of my impact on the success of the program’s vision.”
    Born in Houston, Texas and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, Ms. Shukla’s family originates from India, whose heritage and culture have made a profound impact on her dedication to the pursuit of excellence in education and a high-minded philosophical approach to life.  She is multi-lingual (proficient in four languages), an ardent environmentalist and animal rights advocate and balances her serious side with an affinity for Bollywood (India’s “Hollywood”) and as a Girl Scouts of Central Maryland Ambassador.
   In her junior year, Ms. Shukla was impacted by her grandfather’s severe and worsening neurological condition, diagnosed as potential Alzheimer’s disease.  Witnessing his mental deterioration, she was determined to research and acquaint herself with the disease.  Her initial desire to work in the medical field intersected with her experiences with her grandfather and she is now determined to become a researcher in the field of neurological science so that she may “one day answer questions   that have puzzled many learned and experienced researchers.”
   “Every year, we receive essays from young women all over Maryland and every year I am gifted with the insight that our future is, indeed bright,” says Ann Quasman.  “The diversity in the pool of young ladies, their personal accomplishments and their vision for tomorrow is inspiring.  Rupini is an exceptional example that there are stars among us that are not only bright, but will lead the way into tomorrow.”
   To read Ms. Shukla’s full essay please go to womantalklive.com/girls-gone-great/.
In addition to winning the $2,000 scholarship, Ms. Shukla will appear with Ann Quasman on WomanTalk Live March 31.  WomanTalk Live can be heard every Saturday evening on WCBM 680 from 6-7 PM (EST) or online at tunein.com/radio/WCBM-680-s27755/
   As creator and host of WomanTalk Live, Ann Quasman’s mission since 2007, has been to create deeper and more conscious conversations among women (and the men who love them) both on the radio, in the online community and in our community – literally.  In doing this, Quasman is committed to supporting younger women in finding their voice, growing their passion and forwarding their emerging missions to create a better world.   
   Girls Gone Great is an award program designed to acknowledge the accomplishments and vision of Maryland high school junior and senior women.   Candidates are encouraged to submit essays about how their volunteerism and dreams for the future will leave their community, and world, a better place than they found it.  The contest, in its fifth year, sent out a call for entries last October.  Deadline to enter an 800 word essay was December 31, 2011.
   Since the inception of WomanTalk Live, Ann has interviewed over 200 guests ranging from best-selling authors to women’s issues experts and community and business leaders. WomanTalk Live airs every Saturday from 6-7pm. Find out more about Woman Talk Live and download past shows at www.womantalklive.com

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