The Ladies of the P.E.O.: Helping Women Reach their Educational Goals for over 150 Years

By Meg Hale Brunton

Founded in January 1869, the P.E.O., a philanthropic educational organization, was started with the goal of helping all women receive the education they desire. The P.E.O. started off as a sorority of seven female students at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. It has since grown into an international nonprofit organization of around 230,000 women who are dedicated to providing educational opportunities for women of all ages, backgrounds, and educational levels. To date, the P.E.O. has provided over $398 million in education assistance and helped over 119,000 women reach their educational goals.

The P.E.O. has six core projects: the STAR Scholarship, to help high school students go to college; the Scholar Awards, an award for women seeking a doctoral level degree at an accredited university; the Program for Continuing Education, a grant for women whose education has been interrupted and find it necessary to return to school to support themselves and their families; the International Peace Scholarship Fund, to help international women pursue graduate studies in North America; the Educational Loan Fund, to help qualified women seek higher education; and even their own independent college, Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri. The fully accredited four-year liberal arts college is nationally-ranked and boasts a very conservative cost.

Former P.E.O. Asheville Chapter M President, Judy Gifford, explains that the scholarships are exceptionally competitive and that candidates undergo an extensive interview and application process. She takes a great deal of pride in the fact that her chapter has represented multiple women who have been selected to receive an international grant from the P.E.O. One awardee has completed her education and returned to join the group. “That’s a feather in our cap,” she says, smiling. 

Judy explains that many members of the P.E.O. have been involved for multiple decades, or for generations, as she has. Her mother was a P.E.O. member in North Dakota, and now her daughter has also joined. “Families that believe in educating women, with as many as possible educational opportunities for women, encourage it with one another,” Judy says of joining P.E.O. She remarks that Chapter M has a 93-year-old member who has been with the organization for over fifty years. “It was mostly younger women [when the P.E.O. was founded], now it includes many older women.”

Originally from Wisconsin, Judy lost her father when she was only ten and grew up not having much money. She says these difficult factors helped her to see the value in education. “My mother said, ‘It doesn’t matter what we lose and what we have, because no one can ever take away your education or your experiences. So get as much education as you want and do as many different things as you can,’” Judy recalls. She went on to become principal of a local school.

After moving to Asheville from Trappe, Pennsylvania last December, Connie Peck joined one of the six Asheville P.E.O. chapters last December and became the group’s historian. She moved from Trappe, Pennsylvania, where she served on the board of the Perkiomen Valley Student Loan Fund Association for 45 years and was town mayor for twelve years. “When I moved here, that’s what my intent was,” she explains of joining a charitable organization that focused on education. “I fell into the P.E.O. I was fortunate enough to get involved. It really comes to the aid of many women that could use it.” 

Connie explains that her parents’ generation did not place a great deal of importance on educating women. Her mother only completed the eighth grade in school. While Connie says her parents did impart on her the foundation for her principles and a love for her fellow man, they didn’t see much value in a woman taking college-level classes. Now, she gets to help other women do just that, which she says she finds very rewarding. “You can pass on your knowledge if you have it, but if you’ve never gotten it, how could you ever pass it on to your children?” Connie says.

Connie and Judy agree that the P.E.O. does great work for women, but also that the group possesses a strong social component as well. “These women are very encompassing, friendly and come to each other’s aid,” Connie says of the ladies of the P.E.O. The group gathers in members’ homes once a month to have their meeting, followed by an educational program, social time and lunch. “We just happen to like one another and have a good time,” Judy concurs. Across the country, the P.E.O. also offers special programs for their members, including grief counseling, as well as charitable works, such as organizing donations to Ukraine.

Part of the P.E.O. members’ duties is to seek out worthy women by calling school guidance counselors and speaking to women they meet out in the world. Catina Foster, mother of four, reached out to the P.E.O. after researching their scholarships online. Chapter M selected Catina as their nominee for the P.E.O. Continuing Education scholarship. She was selected to receive the award by the international committee on March 24th, and will be using the grant towards earning her Master’s Degree in Financial Planning at Bryant University in Boston. 

Last April, another of Chapter M’s sponsors was selected to receive the STAR Scholarship from the N.C. State Chapter of the P.E.O. This student, Zoe Schruckmayr, is an honor student at Martin L. Nesbitt Discovery Academy in Asheville and will be attending UNC Chapel Hill in the Fall. In addition to her regular class load, Zoe took a considerable amount of AP and weighted courses, participated in CAYLA (City of Asheville Youth Academy), and is president of Nesbitt’s Girl Up program. 

“All of the chapters and all of the P.E.O.s everywhere are working to provide as many educational opportunities for women as possible,” Judy explains.“I just think about the excitement that someone has when she receives an award and the excitement of helping women pursue their dreams, whatever their dreams may be.” 

For more information on the P.E.O., visit their website: www.peointernational.org