Wonder Women: Lauren Gray wins award

By Ashley Diaz •

Rita Shea-Van Fossen, associate professor of management, and Kyle Fisher, vice president for Division of Public Relations, Marketing, and Creative Services of NSU, talk at the Wonder Woman event.
PHOTO BY INDAYA BYER

Out of 31 nominees, Lauren Gray, senior behavioral neuroscience major and president of Delta Phi Epsilon, won the Wonder Women Award on March 22. Gray received a $500 scholarship for her high academic achievement, community service and participation in activities on NSU.

“It was a complete surprise and true honor to be named Wonder Woman this year,” said Gray.

Nominations for the Wonder Women scholarship came from professors, students and faculty.

Gray was nominated by her fellow sorority sister.

To be considered a finalist for Wonder Woman, the person can be of any gender but has to show leadership, academic excellence and career focus, needs a minimum of a 2.75 GPA and be involved in the community and to be empowering women.

“I’ll say the one that kind of separates people as finalists and winners of the scholarship is the women’s empowerment side because a true wonder woman is someone who helps bring others up,” said Rita Shea-Van Fossen, associate professor of management.

Shea-Van Fossen said since her freshman year, Gray took on leadership roles in her sorority as a budget manager and vice president of operations, which later on led her to be president of Delta Phi Epsilon. She added that Gray was studying at all times, helping others with their own studies and raising funds for charities like Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Relay for Life. Gray also created doorways that allow women to speak up about how they are feeling and she has made sure to support them.

The audience listens to the panelists at the Wonder Woman event.
PHOTO BY INDAYA BYER

“With what Lauren’s doing and what her nominator talked about, we were like, wow, she really is trying to help others,” said Shea-Van Fossen.

Before Gray was announced the winner of the Wonder Women Scholarship, there was a panel. The panel consisted of female leaders in our community: Alison F. Smith, partner at Weiss Serota Helfman Cole and Bierman, Dean Elaine M. Wallace of NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kyle Fisher, vice president for Division of Public Relations, Marketing, and Creative Services of NSU, Susie Levan, serial entrepreneur and Licenia Rojas, Senior Vice President, Chief Engineer and Chief Architect, TD Bank Group.

The panel covered questions from how to find your work-life balance to what helped them make their mark as women in male dominated fields, but the main thing was answering the questions nominees had about women in the workplace.

“We are talking about important topics, but the main thing we want to to is answer your questions about what you want to know,” said Fisher.