DIXON, CA (MPG) - Soroptimist International of Dixon is proud to announce the winners of our Live Your Dream Award. This award is all about helping women who have faced economic and personal hardships to live their dreams.

Since 1972, the award has provided tens of thousands of women with funding to help them achieve their education and career goals. The program helps women build a better life for themselves and their dependents. This year’s recipients are no exception.

Camesha Block and Cindy Perez have received $2,000 each. We were able to give two awards this year as SI Dixon received an educational grant from California Water Service for $1,000 and the use of funds from our service projects for 2021.

Camesha Block

Camesha is pursuing an Associate Degree in Nursing at Sacramento City College and hopes to complete her education in August of 2024.

Her career goals are to make her way up the nursing ladder. She is working on her Vocational Nursing credentials and when she has completed the program, she will apply for her Associates in Nursing to become a Registered Nurse.

She believes her education supports these goals by training her to be fully capable of taking care of people. Camesha realizes these tools and knowledge will complete her job efficiently and precisely.

She has had many challenges and obstacles in her life and while pursuing her educational goals she has learned that it is the only way to help herself and her children get out of poverty.

Her supervisor noted that Camesha is a very strong-minded person who works hard and is very dedicated to her reaching her goals. She prepares her work for the week ahead to focus on her schedule and keep her 4.0 GPA at school.

A friend writes that she is very organized and encourages her classmates to work hard, she is determined and detailed while being very humble and focused. Camesha has 3 children ages 9, 16, and 19 and believes as she works hard, she is showing them, their dreams can come true too.

Cindy Perez

Cindy is attending Sacramento State University and pursing a degree in Sociology and her goal is to become a Social Clinician. She has 3 children ages 7, 9 and 12.

Cindy has been pursuing her educational dreams for a long time. She tried college when she graduated from high school and was disappointed with the results, so she decided to go to beauty school and has been “doing hair” ever since.

She started college in 2010, divorced and has been on her own since 2016. In 2020 she took over a beauty salon while continuing her education. She hopes to earn her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and apply to become a social clinician and while still managing the salon.

Cindy once told someone that she “has been through so much, it’s time for me to win, I need to feel like I have finally accomplished something that I have wanted for myself”.

A coworker wrote that Cindy “is an incredible young woman and has many strengths. She is enrolled in college, takes care of her 3 children, and works very hard to manage her business. I have no doubt that she will do extremely well in the future.”

A client writes, “Cindy has 3 children and has raised them as a single mom and tries to attend all their activities and keep up with all their schooling. She works to improve her business abilities and continues her own education.” She is remarkable.

For more information on Dixon Soroptimist, email [email protected].