The AAUW Crystal Lake (IL) Area Branch sponsors two scholarships that provide monies for tuition, books, fees & course materials assistance to students who meet the eligibility criteria described below.  Each college selects the awardees.

McHenry County College Scholarship:
Fall & Spring Semester awards only.
Applicant must complete and submit the MCC Scholarship application via the Friends of McHenry County College Foundation website.

*Applicant must be enrolled at MCC as a part-time or full-time student.
*Applicant must demonstrate financial need.
*Applicant must be a student 21 years or older.
*Prefer applicants to state long term goals in a paragraph.
*Applicant must be a resident of McHenry County.
*Applicant must provide an established GPA of 2.5+.

Distribution: Award monies provide up to $750 to recipient and only for the semester tuition awarded.  No payments will be made to the student directly.

Spring 2016 AAUW Book Scholarship recipient and Spring 2016 AAUW Scholarship recipient with AAUW Board Members.

Betty Schmidt Scholarship (Columbia College, Crystal Lake Campus):
*2-$250 scholarships presented each year.
*Preference to students studying Business Administration.
*Applicant should go through Columbia’s Scholarship webpage for details.

First ever recipients of the AAUW Crystal Lake (IL) Area Branch – Betty Schmidt Award, Crystal Lake students Debbie Arsenty and Krista Smith.

About Betty Schmidt:
Betty Schmidt graduated from Iowa Wesleyan University with a major in economics.  She worked for 35 years for the City of Park Ridge, serving as Finance Director for 29 years.

Following retirement in 1993, Betty and her husband Tom moved to McHenry County, where Betty worked as a consultant for a number of municipalities and for the AARP tax aide program for ten years, assisting low to moderate income elderly. Betty and Tom were also very active in the art community, in which Betty’s floral and landscape paintings were popular at local exhibits.

Betty served as president of the Government Finance Officers Association of Illinois and of the Oil Painters of America.  She was also a long-time member of the Crystal Lake Area Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), where she served in various positions, including Treasurer and Publicity Director.

Sadly, Betty passed away on August 4, 2021.  Betty was an inspiration to many of our Branch members and will be dearly missed.

AAUW Crystal Lake (IL) Area Branch raises funds for scholarships through fundraising events, primarily our Annual Spring Luncheon.