Meet the 2021 Summit Scholarship recipients
Three women’s mountaineering scholarships of $2,500 each, two different US-based climbing trips to choose from, and more than 400 applicants - those are the statistics behind this year’s Summit Scholarship program.
Truth be told: we weren’t even going to run a 2021 edition of the scholarship, since COVID disrupted last year’s effort and delayed our 2020 Kilimanjaro scholarship climb (it still hasn’t happened, and is currently on the schedule for November 2022). But because of all of you who remind us with every interaction how impactful the Summit Scholarship is, and because of our sponsors who equally believe in the importance of what we are trying to do - we went ahead anyway with a US-focused scholarship program, pandemic or not. Thank you to The Cairn Project, Nite Ize, and LOWA Boots for your unwavering commitment to getting more women into the outdoors and for your steadfast support of AWExpeditions.
So, for the third year in a row, we spent much of the early spring reading through awe-inspiring applications from hundreds of deserving women. Just like in previous years it was amazing to see the response to the Summit Scholarship program, and it was incredibly difficult to select just three women out of the hundreds who applied while simultaneously having to reject the other 99.3%. Also just like in previous years, we once gain so wished that we could offer more scholarships to honor the multitudes of deserving women out there. (Side note: if you’d like to help create additional scholarships for the 2022 season, please consider making a donation of any size to the Summit Scholarship Foundation; a $5, $10 or $25 dollar contribution makes as much of a difference as a $100 pledge.)
Now, without further ado: meet the recipients of the 2021 Summit Scholarship program. Martell, Farah & Marisa - we are excited to welcome you to the family of AWExpeditions adventurers, and can’t wait to share time on the mountain with you.
Marisa, 27
“My name is Marisa and I am an aspiring professional mountaineer based in Southern California. I am also a low-income, queer, mixed Asian American woman with a history of homelessness. These two statements do not seem coherent, but my commitment to becoming a mountaineer remains steadfast.”
“Whenever I face something difficult, I remind myself that if I want to be a mountain climber, I must be brave and keep going, even in the most uncomfortable and unfathomable circumstances. I don’t think I can take another step, but I do. I have never felt more alive, cold, and certain that I am exactly in the right place.”
Farah, 21
“I ended a very short relationship at the beginning of college because the person I was with at the time did not think I was emotionally and physically strong enough to backpack by myself. I simply packed up my backpacking pack, hauled it over my strong, wide swimmer shoulders, and spent two nights camping in Inyo National Forest with just me, myself, and I. No need for toxic masculinity to cloud my adventures onward!”
“I want to make the mountain and outdoors community more welcoming to women and girls of color like me, and to show the world that brown, Muslim girls like me, are as mighty as the mountains that we admire and scale.”
Martell, 27
“While I am thankful for the kind men in my life that have taught me how to belay, tie figure eights, and nail a kick turn, there was always something missing from that experience. In male-dominated outdoor spaces, I was peppered with language that never resonated with me of ‘conquering’ mountains, ‘bagging’ peaks, and ‘crushing’ routes. I often felt like I was not competitive enough for these sports and therefore didn’t belong in these spaces. ”
“It took me a while to realize this discomfort existed because my outdoor goals are different. At their core, they are about connecting with the land, rocks, and snow that fill me with wonder and joy. Having the opportunity to get to know this majestic volcano through reaching its summit in a space that is safe for me to approach as my authentic self, as a mixed Indigenous Mohawk and Cree woman, would be an unforgettable honor that would not be possible without the support of a Summit Scholarship.”
You will have the opportunity to learn more about Farah, Marisa and Martell over the course of the next several months. In the meantime, we want to add the following observation: Mountaineering is not only a predominantly male sport - it has also historically been a predominantly white, straight & cis environment. AWE is of course focused on increasing female representation in the big mountain arena, but we have to be honest: in past years, AWE has skewed predominantly white and straight all the same. That’s why we are particularly pleased to see that the 2021 Summit Scholarship edition does even more to increase representation than to simply fund women at-large in the mountains. If you believe in what we try to do and want to support our efforts to increase representation in the mountains, please help us get a head start on the 2022 Summit Scholarship program.
And — one final THANK YOU to The Cairn Project, Nite Ize and LOWA Boots for making this year’s rounds of scholarships possible. We here at AWE truly could not do what we’re doing without your support.