In keeping with our tradition of serving the community,
the Talbots Charitable
Foundation is proud to offer the 2012 Talbots Scholarship Program for women pursuing a college degree later in life.
Since its inception in 1997, the program has awarded more
than $1 million
in scholarships.
This year, the Talbots Scholarship Program will award
$200,000 in scholarships for the 2012 academic year, including 17 $10,000 scholarships.
It will also present the $30,000
Nancy Talbot Scholarship Award, named in
honor of the founder of Talbots and granted to one extraordinary finalist who
demonstrates courage, conviction and an insatiable entrepreneurial spirit.
"The secret in
education lies in respecting the student."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Talbots Scholarship Program will award $200,000 in college
scholarships for the
2012 academic year, including seventeen $10,000 scholarships and one $30,000 Nancy Talbot Scholarship Award, presented
in memory of the founder of Talbots. These scholarships are given to women demonstrating courage, conviction and an
insatiable entrepreneurial spirit.
Since its inception in 1997, the program has awarded over $1 million to deserving women ranging in age from their late 20s to 60s. The program empowers women to pursue their dreams of a college degree later in life.
The Talbots Scholarship Program is funded by the Talbots Charitable Foundation
Inc., an IRS recognized 501 (c) charitable organization. The Foundation serves the community by providing financial
assistance to nonprofit organizations supporting the education, health and cultural enrichment of women. The Foundation
has helped over 600 women
pursue their educational dreams since its inception in 1997.
We're sorry, the application process for the 2012 academic year is now closed. Please come back and visit the site in April to meet the recipients! You can support the scholarship program by purchasing our limited edition Quotable Tote, which is available in select stores.
Our 2012 Talbots Scholarship recipients will receive the following:
- A $10,000 or $30,000 scholarship.
- A Talbots Gift Card, donated by Talbots.
- The Reinvention Resumé Plus eKit, a step-by-step tool to develop resumés and cover letters.
Applicants to the 2012 Talbots Scholarship Program must:
- Be women currently residing in the United States or Canada.
- Be women who have earned a high school diploma or their GED on or before September 2001.
- Be enrolled or plan to enroll in a full or part-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited 2- or 4-year college or university.
- Be attending the full 2012-13 academic year and receiving a degree no earlier than May 2013.
- Have at least two semesters (24 credit hours or more) remaining to complete an undergraduate degree as of the beginning of the 2012 fall academic term.
Learn about some of our scholarship recipients. All embody grace, confidence and wisdom ... the ideals of our Scholarship Program.
—Patricia Welch, 2011 Scholarship recipient
Patricia
Patricia became the first woman in her family to attend college, even if it was later in life. She is interested in combining art with teaching and bringing her passion for documentary film and photography to abused and neglected youth.
Kara
After overcoming life-threatening odds, Kara enrolled in Santa Rosa Junior College thirty years after her high school graduation. She is beginning her dream of fostering healthy relationships by starting a retreat center. "The faith Talbots has in me and in my ability to achieve my academic and entrepreneurial aspirations is an immense honor."
Melinda
Undeterred by setbacks, Melinda used her retirement money to pay for tuition in Seattle Central Community College. Her goal is to become a certified addiction counselor and explore therapies for families afflicted with addiction. "It was an honor to even be considered for this prestigious scholarship, let alone be a recipient along with so many exceptional women who share the same innovative spirit as Nancy Talbot."
Jamie
"It is a tremendous gift to receive such a generous award. I am overwhelmed with gratitude." As a single mom, Jamie volunteered with English Literacy programs. She is now compiling her own short stories and is enrolled in the Institute of American Indian Arts to fulfill her passion for writing. She will graduate with a BFA in Creative Writing in 2012 and then will pursue a PhD.
Debra
After graduating high school in 1978 and facing extreme adversity, Debra has returned to academia. She is attending AXIA College of University of Phoenix with a 3.9 GPA and plans to become a spa director. "Winning the scholarship has renewed my determination to follow my dream. I now feel there is nothing impossible."
Yolanda
"I am proud to represent Talbots and hope that I can give back to my community, too. With this scholarship, I am sure that my dream will become a reality." Despite limitations,Yolanda was able to enroll at the University of California Los Angeles with a double major in Art History and Chemistry. Her goal is to attend medical school to pursue a career as a family physician.
Jennifer
Faced with obstacles, Jennifer went back to high school in 1998. Her passion is development in Africa, and she wants to work as a human rights advocate and teach corporate responsibility. She is attending the University of South Florida with a focus on International Studies. "Talbots has not only invested in me, but in the next generation as well. This scholarship inspired my son to go on to college. He now believes he can do anything."
Martha
"Personal success did not come to my life by itself. In fact, the implicit connection with people like you has helped me to go ahead in my venture." After moving to America in 1995 so that she could afford to go back to school, Martha now attends Los Angeles Trade Tech. Her dream is to not only become an attorney, but to establish an organization to empower women and increase their access to four-year institutions.
This year, we gathered an impressive
roster of judges. Each of the women on the program's panel went from dream to achievement, and we admire their unique race, confidence, and wisdom. They are a great source of inspiration
and we believe their incredible stories of success represent what is possible for all women.
Joy Bauer MS, RD, CDN
Joy Bauer is America's favorite nutritionist. She is the nutrition and diet expert for NBC's TODAY Show, a monthly columnist and contributing editor to PARADE, Woman's Day magazine and Yahoo.com, and the exclusive nutritionist for the New York City Ballet. Joy is the author of several New York Times bestselling books, including Slim & Scrumptious, Your Inner Skinny & Joy Bauer's Food Cures. She is an associate faculty member at Columbia University and the founder of one of the largest, most advanced nutrition centers in the country. Joy's mission is to improve the health of our nation, and she believes it's never too late or too early to reap the benefits of healthy living.
Kate Betts
Kate Betts is a contributing editor at TIME magazine, where she has written about the worlds of style and design since 2003, and a columnist at The Daily Beast. She has been the editor of TIME Style & Design, editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar and fashion news director at Vogue. She was the subject of a Lifetime documentary, Putting Baby to Bed: Wife, Mother, and Editor in Chief, about her experience as the youngest editor ever to take over a fashion magazine. In 2010 she released her book, Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style (Clarkson Potter). Forbes magazine recently named her one of the top 10 fashion editors.
Jean Chatzky
Award-winning journalist and best-selling author, Jean Chatzky is the financial editor for NBC's Today Show, contributing editor for More magazine, a New York Daily News columnist and Oprah Winfrey Show contributor. In 2009, the Consumer Federation of America awarded Chatzky the Betty Furness Consumer Media Service Award for her nearly two decades of pioneering personal finance education. She has also received a Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television, Inc. Chatzky is the author of six books, including her latest, The Difference, and the bestsellers, Pay It Down and Make Money Not Excuses. She blogs daily at JeanChatzky.com.
Rachael Chong
Rachael is the Founder and CEO of Catchafire, the world's first and largest online pro bono service provider. Years earlier, as an investment banker, Rachael was shocked by the lack of opportunities for her to volunteer her professional skills, so she left corporate finance to work in microfinance. A year later, Rachael helped create BRAC USA, the stateside affiliate of one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the world. There she created a strategy to mobilize dozens of skills-based volunteers that freed up time for her and the President & CEO to raise $40 million in less than nine months. Rachael also pioneered a program that brought students to the rural Bangladeshi countryside for three months of story collecting. She has a Masters of Public Policy Degree from Duke University and graduated magna cum laude from Barnard College at Columbia University. She writes for the Huffington Post.
Dr. Sunita Cooke
Dr. Sunita ("Sunny") Cooke is President of Grossmont College, located in East San Diego County, California. She became the youngest and first woman president of the college in 2007. Throughout her career, Dr. Cooke has earned a reputation as an innovator and motivator in key leadership roles that involved defining new positions and structures within a college or district, developing new opportunities for students, establishing new partnerships and funding sources and "changing lives through education." Dr. Cooke serves on several community boards including the San Diego Workforce Investment Board, Sharp Grossmont Hospital Board, East County Chamber of Commerce, and the YMCA Board of East County.
Kelly Corrigan
Kelly Corrigan is the author of The Middle Place, a New York Times bestselling book. Corrigan is also a national speaker and contributes to several magazines, including O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine, Good Housekeeping and Glamour. Corrigan lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband and their two daughters, and launched CircusofCancer.org, a website designed to help friends and family members of cancer patients learn how to love someone through treatment.
Ann Daly Ph.D
Ann Daly is an executive coach, consultant, and author devoted to the success and advancement of women. You might even call her a fem-evangelist. She serves as the Ask-the-Career-Coach columnist for TheGlassHammer.com and as a guest blogger for MariaShriver.com. Before reinventing herself as a coach/consultant, Daly was a newspaper journalist and then a women's studies professor. After spending nearly two decades in academia, she escaped the ivory tower in order to share her research directly with real women who want to achieve real change in their lives. She is the author of six books, including Do-Over! How Women Are Reinventing Their Lives and Clarity: How to Accomplish What Matters Most. Daly blogs at www.anndaly.com.
Beth Kanter
Beth Kanter is the author of Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media, one of the longest running and most popular blogs for nonprofits. With Allison Fine she co-authored the book "The Networked Nonprofit," published by J Wiley in 2010; the book received Honorable Mention for the Terry McAdams Award. Beth has over 30 years working in the nonprofit sector in technology, training, capacity building, evaluation, fundraising, and marketing. In 2009 she was named one of the most influential women in technology by Fast Company Magazine and one of Business Week's "Voices of Innovation for Social Media." She was named Visiting Scholar for Social Media and Nonprofits for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation in 2009-2012. In 2010 she was named a Society of New Communications Research Fellow.
Gloria Cordes Larson
Named president of Bentley University in July 2007, Gloria had previously served as co-chair of the Government Strategies Group at Foley Hoag LLP. Under Massachusetts Governor William Weld, she was Secretary of Economic Affairs and Secretary of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. Larson serves as a director of Unum Group and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, as well as being an active board member for several professional and community organizations, including the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. She received her bachelor of arts with honors from Vassar College and earned her juris doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Pamela Mitchell
Former entertainment exec turned coach Pamela Mitchell is founder and CEO of The Reinvention Institute, a boutique seminar and coaching firm devoted to individual transformation. She is a popular and in-demand speaker who gives talks around the country to individuals, corporations and industry groups who are interested in learning fresh strategies for navigating change. As the nation's premier career reinvention expert, she has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, NPR and the Today Show and has been profiled and quoted in top media publications including The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, MORE and Black Enterprise. She was a columnist for Inc.com, the website for Inc. magazine, and is the author of The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention: Essential Survival Skills for Any Economy (Dutton 2010), a Harvard Business Review Top Shelf Recommended pick.
Mary Alice Stephenson
One of the world's sought-after fashion and style experts, Mary Alice Stephenson is highly regarded as a well-versed and knowledgeable commentator. Providing extensive fashion coverage for print and electronic media, Stephenson has the distinct ability to analyze trends and contextualize style. Stephenson has served as a fashion and beauty commentator for many networks and shows, including CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, Entertainment Tonight, Extra and E!. She is frequently quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times. Stephenson has worked at legendary fashion magazines including Vogue, Allure and Harper's Bazaar. She has styled Hollywood's most fashionable celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez and Sarah Jessica Parker. Stephenson is also the national fashion ambassador for The Make a Wish Foundation® and Free Arts NYC.
Trudy Sullivan
As President and Chief Executive Officer of The Talbots, Inc., Trudy Sullivan oversees all aspects of the company's operations. Drawing upon her 35 years of retailing and merchandising experience, including leadership roles at Liz Claiborne and J. Crew, Sullivan has a keen insight on the specialty retail sector. Throughout her career, Sullivan has also played an active role in a number of organizations that support the health and welfare of women. Sullivan served on the Executive Women in Fashion Advisory Board at the Fashion Institute of Technology for many years, and has been honored by TechnoServe, the National Mother's Day Council, the YWCA-NYC Academy of Women Leaders and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
