When one hears the phrase ‘women of courage,’ names like Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, and Helen Keller come to mind, but women of courage are all around us. Last week, BYU recognized seven Women of Courage Award winners, two of whom come from the Ira A. Fulton College. Juniors Cyera Bishop and Yara Abdeen received the award for making difficult decisions that required a lot of courage.
The Women of Courage Award is an honor and financial grant that is given annually to women who meet academic requirements and display courage in their lives. Bishop and Abdeen have demonstrated that courage by overcoming hardships and coming to study at BYU.
Bishop is the first member of her family to leave home to attend a university after growing up in a home-school environment, which she says had limited social, educational and financial opportunities. Bishop is studying electrical engineering and is currently an MRI technician. She will graduate in 2019 and will continue her education in a PhD program studying MRI signal processing.
“A lot of people deserve to have this award and receiving it has helped me recognize what I was able to accomplish coming from humble circumstances,” said Bishop. “I live in the best time in United States history to make something of myself and my career as a woman. Before I received this award, I always thought that somebody else won them; now I know that I can win them too.”
Abdeen grew up in Jerusalem and has excelled while adjusting to the challenges of being a long distance from home and in an unfamiliar religious environment. Abdeen is looking to obtain a master’s degree and eventually return to Israel to improve the lives of the people there using the knowledge that she has acquired.
“Receiving this award means a lot to me because it shows that my hard work is being appreciated and that I am making a difference in the engineering school,” said Abdeen. “This award will allow me to graduate in a year, have enough time to study for the GRE and apply for grad school, since I will be able to work less hours.”
Being courageous has driven these women to succeed in education and will continue to drive them forward throughout the rest of their bright futures.
Media Contact
Writers
Josh Wilford
Photography
Yara Abdeen and Cyera Bishop
Release Date
May 14, 2018