AAUW Naperville Area is excited to announce that Hailey Szulc is the winner of the 2023 Angeline Gale Scholarship. Ms. Szulc will receive $5,000 toward her undergraduate degree. The scholarship, established in 1971 in memory of educator and AAUW Naperville founder Angeline Gale, encourages women to pursue higher education, even when their progress has been interrupted. The scholarship was funded through the support of AAUW member Donna Yule and everyone who contributed to the success of AAUW’s annual used book sale. 

Hailey Szulc, 2023 Angeline Scholarship Awardee

Hailey Szulc recently graduated from National Louis University with a degree in early childhood education and an endorsement in special education. Ms. Szulc faced many hardships in achieving higher education, particularly relating to her gender. The culture in which she was raised discouraged women from pursuing any education or career choices that weren’t directly related to cooking or child rearing. She was told she wasn’t smart or logical enough to handle higher education and that she should learn how to run a household to attract the ideal spouse. Ms. Szulc wanted more for herself. She believed that pursuing higher education would be her way out of the cycle of addiction and poverty within her household. Finally, after 10 long years of working full-time to support herself while attending school part-time, Ms. Szulc proudly has achieved her goal. She is grateful to the Naperville AAUW for awarding her with such an incredible financial blessing, which will greatly reduce her outstanding student loan debt.