The student organization Women Involved in Self-Empowerment held a gala open to students and the community to fund a scholarship for a victim of domestic or sexual violence to attend Nicholls.
W.I.S.E. held its first scholarship gala in the ballroom on Oct 11. President Shiena Marie Normand, a government senior from Niceville, Florida, and the rest of the W.I.S.E. club spent countless months planning this special event with the help and collaboration of Student Government Association, Student Programming Association and Psychology Club.
According to Normand, over 230 tickets were sold and over 160 students, faculty and community members came out to support W.I.S.E. and the cause. A silent auction, raffle and live auction took place, and at the end of the night, over $4,500 was raised to create the scholarship. It is undecided whether W.I.S.E. will create a partial scholarship for many women or a single scholarship for one woman.
“The amount of students, faculty and community members that were able to attend speaks volumes about this school and community,” Normand said. “This was the first type of event W.I.S.E. has ever done, and the positive feedback and support we received was amazing.”
Putting on the W.I.S.E. gala, according to Normand, was no easy feat.
“This whole gala and W.I.S.E. organization as a whole is always a team effort. We all believe that one of the best way to empower women is through an education.”
That is when W.I.S.E. got inspired to create this scholarship.
“W.I.S.E. wanted to give a survivor a chance to empower herself through education at Nicholls State University,” Normand said. Our goal was to create a scholarship for a survivor of domestic or sexual abuse so they can receive support and assistance while attending school at Nicholls State University.”
There were many things that members of the community donated for the silent and live auctions. Pieces included paintings big and small, gift baskets and Nicholls baseball memorabilia. According to Normand, the support from the community was phenomenal.
The W.I.S.E. club has been a part of Nicholls for some time now, but it just recently started to be active in the community. Normand says she got involved in W.I.S.E. about a year ago.
“I fell in love with working for a higher cause and the idea of being the voice for those who are frightened or unable to speak. I attended one of the meetings and fell in love with the group of people and the whole atmosphere,” she said.
She became vice president that year, and she now resides as president of W.I.S.E..
W.I.S.E. means so much to all of its members and it holds a special place in Normand’s heart.
“This organization has taught me to become more aware about social issues and to always have an open mind when meeting new people,” she said. W.I.S.E. and the members in this organization have helped me become the empowered woman I am today.”
W.I.S.E. prides itself on using its empowered spirit to empower others. W.I.S.E. is the voice of the women too afraid to speak and, according to Normand, this gala showed just that.