A Middle Tennessee State University senior is one of only three students statewide to receive a scholarship to attend the upcoming National Conference for College Women Student Leaders.

Megan Merrick

Megan Merrick, a senior anthropology major from Gallatin, Tennessee, will attend the gathering May 28-30 at the University of Maryland, College Park, with a stipend from the American Association of University Women.

More than 1,000 young women from across the country and around the world are scheduled to attend the conference. They can participate in 50 workshops and network with representatives from more than 80 graduate schools and employers.

“The NCCWSL experience is focused on preparing women to be leaders in their communities today and in the future and to work toward closing the gender gap in leadership positions,” said Dr. Tanya Peres-Lemons, an associate professor, director of MTSU’s anthropology program and president of AAUW Murfreesboro.

Dr. Tanya Peres-Lemons

Peres-Lemons, who nominated Merrick for the scholarship, said the young woman “embodies the spirit and qualities that we need in our future leaders. I know she will find this a transformative experience and look forward to her sharing her experience with the MTSU campus community.”

“I owe so much to the strong women in my life who believed in my abilities before I did, and my desire is to do the same for other women and girls,” said Merrick, who is scheduled to graduate Saturday, May 9. d

“I believe that NCCWSL will give me the tools I need to be a more effective leader and to help and encourage other women in the same ways I was encouraged.”

Merrick is president of the MT Anthropology Society and has a double minor in archaeology and history.

For more information about the conference or AAUW Murfreesboro, contact Peres-Lemons at 615-904-8590 or tanya.peres@mtsu.edu or Ayne Cantrell, president-elect of AAUW of Tennessee, at acantrell@comcast.net.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)