2023 Mary Vandewiele Leadership Award Recipient Announced
ANN ARBOR, MI, April 7, 2023 – The Joyce Ivy Foundation recently announced the names of eighty-six young women selected as 2023 Summer Scholars. From this group of Scholars, Sage Porter, a junior studying at Grosse Pointe South High School, has been selected to receive the 2023 Mary Vandewiele Leadership Award.
Mary Vandewiele, a Metro Detroit entrepreneur and advocate for women and their leadership development, established the Mary Vandewiele Leadership Award in 2013, and it is awarded annually to a Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholar who demonstrates leadership, academic promise, and exceptional commitment to their school and home communities. Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholars engage in both academic and leadership development during their summer program experiences at highly selective colleges and universities.
“Mary’s support of her Leadership Award recipients extends far beyond the financial,” said Brittany Knight, Executive Director of the Joyce Ivy Foundation. “She also offers them encouragement, mentorship and friendship. It’s delightful to see the relationships she’s formed with her Scholars over the past ten years. I’m excited for Sage to join this special community of young women.”
Sage Porter
Sage Porter of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan is a junior studying at Grosse Pointe South High School. She is passionate about social justice and understanding how systems work. Her goal is to dismantle them to make the world a more just and equitable place. Sage is a leader at her school. She is a Committee Chair and Senator for Latin Club and founded and serves as President of her school’s first Fashion Club. A talented student, she is a member of honor societies for both mathematics and theater. Outside of school, Sage participates in Generation of Promise, a program which focuses on social and educational justice in the metro Detroit area and equips its members with skills to be effective and inclusive leaders. Sage will use her scholarship to attend a Health & Society Institute at Barnard College this summer.
“ ‘An inspirational leader embodies the principles of the very thing that they’re trying to lead,’ is a quote that describes Sage as a leader,” said Mary Vandewiele. “Her passion for social and educational justice is much needed and will not go unnoticed as she makes her way in the adult world. I am thrilled to name her the Mary Vandewiele Leadership recipient for 2023 and look forward to seeing the impact she will make in the future.”
“It is such an honor to be a Joyce Ivy Summer Scholar and the recipient of the Mary Vandewiele Award!” said Sage Porter, 2023 Summer Scholar and Leadership Award recipient. “I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities provided to me by the Joyce Ivy Foundation. I highly admire the organization’s mission to promote the educational advancement of young women and can’t wait to use the skills I develop over the summer to help further it. Participation in Barnard’s summer program is a dream come true and marks a step toward my goal of making a difference in the world.”
About The Joyce Ivy Foundation
The Joyce Ivy Foundation seeks to provide exposure, encouragement, and financial assistance to young women who have the academic, intellectual, and leadership potential to attend the nation’s most selective institutions of higher education. Funding for the Joyce Ivy Foundation is provided by individuals, other foundations, and corporations. Since its founding in 2006, the Foundation has named 1136 students from Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota as Joyce Ivy Scholars, providing scholarships for them to attend summer educational programs at partner college summer programs, and providing or leveraging $6 million in scholarship funding. For more information, please visit www.joyceivyfoundation.org or contact the Joyce Ivy Foundation at info@joyceivyfoundation.org or (734) 661-0229.
