The Key West Chapter of the National Organization for Women recently announced the two 2020 recipients of the Connie Gilbert Scholarship Awards. The awards are open to any Monroe County resident who identifies as female and is seeking to further their education or professional career. Each of this year’s recipients received $2,000.
Emelia (Emi) Cardenas is a lifelong resident of Key West and a graduate of Key West High School. She earned her associate’s degree in nursing in August at the College of the Florida Keys and is now working on her bachelor’s degree in nursing. She is currently working at Lower Keys Medical Center. Her family has always encouraged her and her siblings to pursue their education. When not working and studying, Cardenas is involved in The Book Club, Student Government Association and assisting students as a student ambassador at CFK.
Savanna Artigue is also a lifelong resident of the Florida Keys who is a second-year student at Florida A&M in Tallahassee studying for a degree in agronomy. While attending Key West High School, Savanna participated in the Special Olympics, both locally and at the state level. Volunteering at the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden and a local organic fruit nursery nurtured her interest in plants and the outdoors.
KWNOW established the scholarship awards to celebrate the legacy of Connie Gilbert, former
KWNOW president and long-time human rights activist. In addition to serving as a past president of KWNOW, Gilbert was the co-founder of many Key West organizations including ACLU, League of Women Voters and the Keys Coalition Against Child Sex Trafficking.
Key West NOW was founded in 1972 and follows the purposes established by NOW in 1966: to take action through grassroots activism, to promote feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls, socially, politically and economically.
Contact kwnowinfo@gmail or president Darlene Lovell Thomas at darlenekw@aol.com for
information on meetings and future scholarship and fundraising opportunities.
