Nine Iowa State women were honored recently with four scholarships for senior or international women by the Women’s Club.

The women received scholarships and certificates for their academic accomplishments and leadership skills at a lunch Thursday, Nov. 20.

“I can’t believe everything that these women accomplish in life,” said Jen Baker, Awards Committee chair for the club.

The club has presented varying numbers and amounts of awards annually since 1913 to outstanding women. The amounts of awards vary depending on the amount of interest earned on the club’s award endowment.

Baker said she thinks the club awarded the same number of scholarships last year.

Criteria for the Patricia Miller Scholarship and the Senior Award, two kinds of awards given, are similar.

Applicants should possess a good scholarship record, make contributions to university or community life and be partially self-supporting senior women.

Two Patricia Miller Scholarships were awarded this semester to Carmen Morales, senior in food science and industry, and Lauren Muser, senior in English.

The Senior Award was given to three students, including Teresa Gray, senior in zoology; Gina McAndrews, senior in ecology and evolutionary biology; and Ann Greiner, senior in business and marketing.

The International Award also was given to three students. Those receiving the awards include Trina Radske, senior in exercise and sport science from Canada, Kee Jeong Kim, graduate student in human development and family studies from South Korea, and Meiyu Shen, graduate student in chemical engineering from the People’s Republic of China.

Character and ability to “foster international understanding and to interpret our American way of life to the people of their country,” Baker said were the main criteria of the award.

Leah Kagima, graduate student in family and consumer education and studies from Kenya, received the Mrs. Glenn Murphy International Award.

The recipients of this award are encouraged to return to their home countries to work in their academic disciplines.

The Patricia Miller Scholarship and the Mrs. Glenn Murphy International Award were set up as memorials to past members by their families.

Baker said there were 42 quality applications this year.

Although she has been involved in the awards committee before, this was Baker’s first year chairing it.

She said it’s fun to be involved in the awards because it provides an opportunity to see how women are developing professionally.

A committee of seven “worked long and hard” reading applications and selecting the nine winners, Baker said.

“It’s something that we take very seriously,” she said.

This year, Baker said, several of the recipients excel in what they do despite having complicated life situations.

One of the students, she said, is a mother with a full load of responsibilities, yet she is one of the most outstanding students in her department.

Another has been very involved with ACCESS, an organization that helps women in need find shelters. “She’s a person who never stops,” Baker said.

The award recipients are juggling other responsibilities on top of their academic loads. “They’re not just sitting in front of desk,” Baker said.

The awards used to be given in the spring, Baker said, but are now awarded in the fall because of financial needs of the students.

“It’s well needed in the middle of the year,” Baker said.

The scholarship money is not earmarked for any specific use, Baker said. “It’s their money entirely.”

Giving the awards in the fall also allows makes it easier for members of the club to meet award recipients in a reception at the Knoll. “It’s a chance for them to see who’s giving the money and for us to see that the money is still going to really neat people,” Baker said.