Peconic Bay Zonta Awards ESL Scholarship to Maria Guadron

Maria Guadron (center) of Calverton won a $300 scholarship from Peconic Bay Zonta, a service and advocacy group that works to improve the status of women. Peconic Bay Zonta scholarship chair Mary Ann Miller( left) and co-president Diane Greenberg presented Guadron with the award at Suffolk County Community College’s eastern campus, where she successfully completed Level 3 of the school’s English as a Second Language (ESL) program. The local Zonta group awards the scholarship biannually to a female student in the college’s ESL program who is studying to achieve an educational goal.

A native of El Salvador, Guadron came to the U.S. thirteen months ago. Having earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s degree in health services management, Guadron worked as a nurse in her native country. Learning English is her priority in her educational goals since she would like to pursue her career in nursing in the U.S. Also, a proficiency in English will help her communicate bilingually with her 10 year-old son and eventually, her newborn daughter.

Based in Riverhead, Peconic Bay Zonta covers the East End of Long Island and is affiliated with Zonta International, which works to empower women worldwide through service and advocacy.