An Audubon native was recently awarded an esteemed scholarship for her work at Alvernia University, located in Reading, Pa. Tracey Brown, who now lives in Pottstown, is a Ph.D. student with the university, studying Leadership.
She was one of just 85 doctoral students nationwide to be selected for a $15,000 Scholar Award from the P.E.O. Sisterhood.
"I was sponsored by Chapter CE of Lansdale,” said Brown.
Brown is the daughter of Robert and Linda Woodruff, of Audubon, and is married to Kevin Brown of Trooper, Pa. She is a 2003 graduate of Rosemont College where she obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in counseling psychology simultaneously. She was the recipient of a Cornelian Scholarship and the Alumni Association Scholastic Excellence Award, among many other honors.
Brown’s accomplishments do not stop at the classroom Recently, she co-authored the book "Nature-Centered Leadership: An Aspirational Narrative” and contributed to the “Berks Vital Signs: Community Indicators Report.”
She doesn’t let the local or even national borders stop here, either. Brown has also presented her research at international conferences in New Zealand, Croatia, and Canada.
"At Alvernia University, I was the Graduate Assistant to the Institutional Review Board and I’ve been selected as an O'Pake Graduate Leadership Fellow,” she said. She is also a Senior Lecturer of psychology at Montgomery County Community College.
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Brown said that the PSAs were designed as a way to assist women in the world attempting to pursue a doctoral degree.
"The P.E.O. Scholar Awards (PSA) was established in 1991 to provide substantial merit-based awards for women of the United States and Canada who are pursuing a doctoral level degree at an accredited college or university," said Brown. “The P.E.O. Sisterhood, founded January 21, 1869, at Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, is a philanthropic educational organization interested in brining increased opportunities for higher education to women.”
Since its early start, the organization has continued to grown throughout the nation, including a local chapter in Lansdale.
"There are approximately 6,000 local chapters in the United States and Canada with nearly a quarter of a million active members," said Brown.
This story was published through a news partnership between The Alternative Press of Lower Providence and NBC10.com
