Application deadline extended for New Opportunity School for Women at MC summer program

The New Opportunity School for Women (NOSW) at Maryville College has extended the application deadline for its first summer residential program, which will be held on the Maryville College campus July 13 through Aug. 2, 2014. The new application deadline is June 15.

The school is designed to improve the educational, financial and personal circumstances of low-income, under-educated women between the ages of 30 and 55 in East Tennessee’s Appalachian region. The Women’s Fund of East Tennessee, a fund of the East Tennessee Foundation, is providing financial support for the program and enabling participants to attend at no cost.

Out of an urgent need to help women in Appalachia become better educated and employed, the program was founded in 1987 by Jane Stephenson at Berea College in Kentucky. Building on its success, two additional programs were established at Lees-McRae College in North Carolina and Bluefield College in Virginia. Maryville College is the fourth NOSW program, which serves East Tennessee.

Through a 21-day residential program and continuing support, women develop essential tools for advancing their education, gaining sustainable employment and rebuilding self-esteem.

“In three weeks, these women will begin to rediscover personal strengths, courage and life goals often hidden by overwhelmingly difficult circumstances. During the program, the women will realize their personal assets of confidence and self-esteem. The women will gain the knowledge and the tools that will help them reach their life goals,” said Linda Ueland, Director of the NOSW program at Maryville College.

To learn more about the NOSW program or attending the three-week program at Maryville College, please visit http://www.maryvillecollege.edu/about/outreach/education/the-new-opportunity-school-for-women/ or contact Ueland at 865.981.8123 or linda.ueland@maryvillecollege.edu.

NOSW at Maryville College is located on the Maryville College campus, 502 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804.

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Maryville College is ideally situated in Maryville, Tenn., between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Knoxville, the state’s third largest city. Founded in 1819, it is the 12th oldest institution of higher learning in the South and maintains an affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Known for its academic rigor and its focus on the liberal arts, Maryville is where students come to stretch their minds, stretch themselves and learn how to make a difference in the world.