Extending a BIG ZONTA WELCOME to Teri and Reni, our two new members who were inducted at our April club meeting.

 They both joined right before the winter holidays, so both are already acquainted with some of our service projects, fundraisers, and Zonta events. We are proud to have both of these accomplished women formally join in our Zonta mission. Reni will be traveling to represent our club at the Zonta International Convention in Brisbane, Australia in June.

Our Zonta Club of Oak Brook presented its YOUNG WOMEN IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS AWARD at our April club meeting.
Our winner, Sophia Szymanski, is a graduating Lyons Township High School senior. We were overjoyed to welcome both Sophia and her mother to our dinner meeting.                             

Sophia was so gracious and shared some of her plans and experiences with our members. Her accomplishments are stellar and her goals high, but achievable with her kind of focused energy. Our warmest wishes go with her as she heads to Northwestern University in Evanston.

Zonta Club of Oak Brook are proud and honored to announce our 2024 Young Women in Public Affairs Award, Sophia Szymanski, graduating senior from Lyons Township High School in LaGrange, Illinois.

Sophia credits her passion for public affairs to her dual-citizenship (Poland-United States) background and her experiences living in Poland. Sophia’s ability to speak three languages influenced her successful efforts to connect with various cultures and opportunities. This fall, Sophia will pursue a double major in Chemistry and Global Health at Northwestern University on the accelerated master’s track, where she hopes to pursue a career in international development in support of women’s health globally.

Sophia, we wish you all the best as you move further into your learning journey, and we congratulate you on how much you have accomplished so far.

• • Secretary General of two Model United Nations conferences
    • H-MUN 9 (non-profit organization that hosts a summer learning conference for incoming high school students and supports international development organizations) In summer 2023, Sophia led Hinsdale Model United Nations (H-MUN) and raised more than $19,000 for both the World Food Programme Sudan and the Amazon Rainforest Conservation Fund
    • LYMUN X (Lyons Township High School’s Model United Nations)
      Conference hosted more than 600 students from 35 schools across the Midwest and Sophia arranged to feature personalized videos from the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Director General of the World Health Organization to address the conference
  • Student Representative to the D204 Board of Education
    • Sophia was appointed and diligently worked to bridge the gap between students and administration.
    • Sophia represents 4,000 students who hail from diverse racial, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds, and she presents student ideas and feedback for consideration by the school administration and the board.
    • Together, they have introduced increased budget allocation for school clubs, and led their school to joining the nationwide class action lawsuit against social media companies.
  • Representative Sean Casten’s STEM Scholars Program in (Illinois Congressional 6th District.
    • Sophia toured various local STEM facilities
    • Learned about the local initiatives to reduce climate change in the Chicagoland community
  • Lyons Township High School Chemistry Club
    • Sophia – Founder and President
    • Opportunities for students to learn more about chemistry and STEM through various labs
    • Provides access to research and internship opportunities in the community
  • Youth Representative for the Medical Communications Coalition
    • Sponsored by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
    • Partners with various health organizations, such as the World Health Organization, to organize social media campaigns pertaining to public health topics focused on by the partner organization, with the goal of building awareness among youth

Zonta Club of Oak Brook is now accepting applications for the 2024 Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship.

Because Zonta International believes in gender equality, the Jane M. Klausman (JMK) Women in Business Scholarship program helps women pursue undergraduate and master’s degrees in business management and overcome gender barriers from the classroom to the boardroom.  The Zonta Foundation for Women awarded the first Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarships in 1998 to women pursuing degrees in business leading to a business management career.

The  JMK Award program operates at the Zonta club, district/region and international levels. The Zonta Club of Oak Brook offers an award of US$1,500. Zonta International offers 37 international scholarships of US$5,000. Each club award recipient is elevated to its corresponding district level, and each district/region may submit one applicant for consideration for an international scholarship.

Deadline for submitting the application to Zonta Club of Oak Brook is May 31, 2023. Zonta International offers 37 international scholarships of US$5,000. Each club award recipient is elevated to its corresponding district level, and each district/region may submit one applicant for consideration for an international scholarship.
Click to download the 2024 JMK Women in Business Scholarship Application Packet.

Questions may be sent to: KlausmanOakBrook@gmail.com

Our Zonta Club of Oak Brook is very honored and proud of all our Educational Awards this 2023 club year: Young Women in Public Affairs Award, Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship, and for the first time Women in STEM Scholarship. All of them were awarded our club monetary award, and two of our winners were chosen at the District 6 level to win the Zonta International Awards of $5,000.00 each. Catherine Tang for her accomplishments and achievements eloquently summarized in her YWPA application. Tatiana Kensoung for her equally elegant achievements and goals in her JMK Women in Business application. We congratulate all our winners again and wish them their continuing success.
Catherine Tang (YWPA), Tatiana (JMK), and Kayce Palisoc (STEM).

Tatiana Kensoug: Women in Business Scholarship

Kayecee Palisoc: Women in STEM Scholarship

We presented 2 scholarships this month to Kayecee Palisoc, our first Women in STEM winner, and Tatiana Kensoug, our Women in Business Scholar winner. Both impressive women are well deserving recipients of the scholarships. We congratulate both for their achievements so far and wish them the best in their academic futures.

Zonta Club of Oak Brook and very special guests

These two beautiful women were an inspiration for all of us who met them, celebrated them, and shared dinner with one another!

Members of our Zonta Club of Oak Brook were inspired by the Zonta International District 6 Service Project to Fight Against Food Poverty. 

The members brought needed items for the Downers Grove Area Food Pantry. The Service Committee collected 7 shopping bags full of donations, totaling 70 pounds at Pantry weigh-in.

Our Zonta Club of Oak Brook is raising awareness and taking action to help fight food poverty in our local communities by collecting needed items at Downers Grove Area FISH Food Pantry at our September meeting. Zonta International District 6 is continuing to fight the food poverty issue through their Zonta clubs in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin throughout this club year.

Most Immediate needed items include:

• Canned Peaches and Pineapple

                  Chili, Sloppy Joe mix, Corned beef hash

• Baking supplies

         Flour, Sugar,  Salt,  Baking soda

Congratulations to our Zonta Club of Oak Brook’s first Women in STEM Scholarship Award winner, Kayecee Palisoc!

Kayecee is currently enrolled in the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy pursuing her Master degree in Computer Science and Public Policy. Her previous studies earned her a Bachelor of Applied Mathematics degree in Actuarial Science, followed by a Master of Statistics.

Having grown up in the Philippines, Kayecee experienced the awareness of social injustice and inequities. She is thankful for the level of education she was privileged to receive in a country where that opportunity is not open to all. She credits her education for enabling her to help open opportunities for others. As her education continued, she realized how the digital world is changing very rapidly, and it needs bridging to the unconnected segments in society. One of her goals focuses on the extreme spaces where she can contribute to technology policies while bridging the accessibility and skill gaps. Kayecee’s academic background and professional banking and insurance data analysis work experience led her to volunteer with young students in learning skills for digital jobs with various organizations in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Not only is that Kayecee’s  goal for the future, she is already working actively on it within in her short time at the Harris School of Public Policy and Computer Science.  According to  Associate Dean of Students and her Professor of Technology Policy at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Kayecee has a strong passion for technology policy beyond her academics, her involvement in two organizations that revolve around Data Science and Technology:

• HarrisTech (an organization that serves as a platform for fostering discussions at the intersection of technology and policy) in which Kayecee serves as a HarrisTech Board Member
• Data, Ethics, and Policy Organization (new organization within the Harris School of Public Policy) in which Kayecee played an integral role in the establishment of the organization that emphasizes the ethical implications of data usage

Our best wishes to Kayecee in this amazing journey she has started!