Warrior Women in Leadership

One might ask “What is WWIL and who are they?”. Well, one thing we know for sure is that WWiL girls are around us all the time in Waldorf University. WWIL stands for Warrior Women in Leadership.

WWIL is a scholarship for young, motivated and talented future female leaders. The scholarship is also known by its previous name ‘Cooley Leadership Scholarship’. Scholarship provider and co-owner of Waldorf University, Chantell Cooley, and the faculty decided to name the scholarship WWiL so that it would fit the schools’ theme.

The program was put in place a few years ago and was sponsored by Cooley. Her main goal is to mentor and empower young women in leadership. The male population of Waldorf University used to be larger than women. WWIL changed that by attracting intelligent and strong females. With the new name, there are also a few more changes that came to the program. WWIL now focuses on students being involved in school activities and also be an active participant of weekly meetings to improve leadership skills of scholarship recipients.

“We want our students to see the goal, to see the vision that we have for Waldorf to serve and to be out in the community,” admission officer and counselor Cassy Ruud said.

The changes that WWIL brings to women’s lives are very significant. Women become more involved on campus, and they enjoy what they are doing and understand why they are here.

“Even just the way they say “Hello’ is a little bit brighter,” Ruud added.

“It’s been a great journey so far with its ups and downs. But I think we found a great balance and lots of goals that we are successfully achieving,” coordinator Sharese Hall said. “This is a humbling experience for us being leaders of this program, knowing that so many young girls look up to me.”

WWIL not only improves students’ skills but it also serves as a great opportunity to get an education in general. The scholarship can cover up to full tuition. Moreover, it encourages women to be part of school’s community and gives an opportunity to make Waldorf and themselves proud.