Center Moriches Resident Wins Peconic Bay Zonta Scholarship

Olga Santangelo (second from right) won a scholarship from Peconic Bay Zonta, a service and advocacy group that works to improve the status of women.

Mary Ann Miller (left), treasurer for the local Zonta club, presented Santangelo with a $300 check at Suffolk County Community College’s eastern campus, where she successfully completed Level 3 of the school’s English as a Second Language (ESL) course. Also on hand to congratulate Santangelo were Peconic Bay Zonta co-president Diane Greenberg and Rudy Small, Santangelo’s ESL instructor. The local Zonta group awards the scholarship biannually to a female student in an ESL program who is studying to achieve an educational goal.

Santangelo came to the U.S. from Colombia in 2001, and she resides with her husband, 12-year-old daughter and mother in Center Moriches. She started working in housekeeping at Peconic Bay Medical Center in 2012 and has since progressed to become a supervisor in environmental services.

Santangelo plans to continue her ESL studies and hopes to eventually earn a college degree.

Peconic Bay Zonta covers the eastern end of Long Island and is affiliated with Zonta International, which works to empower women worldwide through service and advocacy.