In remembrance of Anne, her family has established this scholarship to assist undergraduate and graduate students active in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Illinois State University.
This fund is established in loving memory of Anne Marie Semlak. Anne grew up and lived her young life in Bloomington-Normal, where she attended Normal Community High School and Illinois State University. At ISU, Anne was very active in the Woman's Studies Program and graduated with a degree in political science with minors in both Women's Studies and Peace Studies.
Anne did her summer internship with the Minneapolis Domestic Abuse Project in 2000, which provided aid to victims of domestic violence. In 2001, the year of her graduation, she won the Women's Studies Achievement Award.
After graduation, Anne, and her future husband Mark Laken, traveled extensively throughout Europe and moved to Colorado where they lived the remainder of their lives together. Anne worked as a restorative justice coordinator for Partners of Weld County, which provided juvenile offenders with an alternative to the court system through mediation. The project was very successful and was eventually moved to the District Attorney's Office of Weld County. Anne moved on to oversee the Foothills Unitarian Church middle school and high school youth programs for several years.
Anne's work helping others truly defined her life and her spirit will live on in all those who had the good fortune to know her.
Each candidate for an award must:
Students applying for the Anne M. Semlak Memorial Scholarship must have a financial need as determined by the Financial Aid Office. Financial aid is determined by filling out the FAFSA Form.
Once you have filed, the information will be sent to our Financial Aid Office if you indicate you want ISU to receive your FAFSA data. Financial Aid Counselors can verify "unmet need" once they have processed your file.