Scholarships

can be an invaluable asset to individuals seeking higher education. Not only do they provide financial support, but scholarships can also serve as a source of motivation and inspiration for those receiving them. With the Dr. Anne McMahon Scholarship from the Youngstown Business and Professional Women’s Club, one woman each year receives a $1,000 scholarship.

Scholarship Fund

For 100 years, the Youngstown Business and Professional Women’s Club awarded various scholarships and gifts to females in the valley.  The first documented $1000 YBPW scholarship went to  Elizabeth Luso, a student teacher, in 1959.

The History

YBPW traditionally provided one  $1000 scholarship each year to a female student at YSU. In the late 2000s, Minnie Andrews, a long-time member of our organization and the scholarship committee, suggested the YBPW annual scholarship be given a namesake. She suggested Dr. Anne McMahon, and the committee and club voted unanimously to change the name to honor Dr. McMahon. The committee also decided to manage the scholarship with the YSU foundation.

Dr. Anne McMahon

Dr. McMahon was a management professor at Youngstown State University. She was extremely passionate about connecting the classroom to business and vice versa. In her desire to create connections, she became a member of YBPW and was a driving force in our success for over 20 years. Dr. Anne’s foresight of the changing demographics in the workplace and the impact it would have on human resources, employee relations, and profits motivated her to create a partnership between YSU and YBPW that would create a platform for programs and a means to facilitate them, as well as drive attendance.  Dr. McMahon still supports and funds the scholarship today, even though she is retired and living out of the area. 

In 2018 the Dr. Anne McMahon Scholarship reached perpetuity status within the YSU Foundation.  This means we can continue to offer a $1000 scholarship into perpetuity without adding more funds to the account. 

So, in 2019 the club voted to establish a second scholarship award in order to support and empower valley women outside of YSU and the traditional college landscape.  In 2020 we elected a  separate scholarship committee who have worked to establish a separate 501C(3) foundation to manage the new Centennial Scholarship.  We piggybacked off of the Dr. Anne McMahon Application and awarded the first Centennial Scholarship in 2021.  In 2022 the committee focussed on the final phase of defining and developing separate criteria, the application process, and the marketing plan, which will allow us to begin consistently awarding two scholarships each year beginning in 2023.

Criteria of the Dr. Anne McMahon Scholarship

• Must be formally enrolled or accepted in an undergraduate program at YSU
• They must submit a completed application packet by the announced due date including transcripts, references and an essay as to why YBPW should give them the award
• Must have GPA of 3.0 or higher and other indications of academic achievement
• Must show evidence of leadership and citizenship achievements 
• There is a consideration of need for funds to complete educational goals of applicants
• Preference is given to students already enrolled with a GPA in their course work to date