NATCHITOCHES – The Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) – Chapter BG announced that Caryn Steinmetz of Bossier City is the recipient of a Project for Continuing Education Grant this spring semester. Steinmetz is a nursing major at Bossier Parrish Community College with plans to complete her BSN degree through Northwestern State University. Her long-term goal is to work in pediatric oncology and one day earn a Doctorate in Nursing Practice.
P.E.O. supports women’s education and scholarship, and the Project for Continuing Education is specifically intended or women who find it necessary to return to school to support themselves and their families.
“Chapter BG found the ideal candidate in Ms. Steinmetz through her daughter Tova Volcheck, a theatre major at Northwestern State University,” said Jessica Parr, who along with fellow NSU theatre professor and BG member Dr. Vicki Parrish, discovered Steinmetz and her daughter were attending school at the same time. “We not only found a stellar candidate, but a woman who models the importance of perseverance and education for her family.”
A Gulf War veteran, Steinmetz home schooled her children while she and her military husband lived all over the world. She chose to pursue a career in nursing to support herself and her family after she and her husband separated.
“With three children in college and five still living at home, Ms. Steinmetz’s work towards her nursing degree inspires not only her family, and the P.E.O. sisterhood, but women everywhere,” Parr said.
“My goal is to have my children become kind and gracious human beings,” Steinmetz said. “The best thing you can leave behind you is a legacy of service to others.”
P.E.O. Was founded almost 150 years ago by seven college women. Today, the organization has grown to include chapters throughout the US and Canada. The sisterhood supports five philanthropies that provide educational assistance for women, the P.E.O Educational Loan Fund, P.E.O. Program for Continuing Education, P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship, P.E.O. Scholar Award, and the P.E.O. Star Scholarship.
Information on PEO is available at peointernational.org.
