BALTIMORE ( JULY 1, 2011) – The Maryland Commission for Women (MCW) hosted its fourteenth annual Women of Tomorrow recognition ceremony on June 30, 2011 at the Maryland Yacht Club Clubhouse in Anne Arundel county. The award, established in 1997, identifies young women in middle school and high school who have set sail into their future by demonstrating an extraordinary commitment to community service and academic excellence.
The honorees were selected through a process that begins with an annual statewide call for nominations. An independent, all-volunteer selection committee reviews the applications and normally selects six young women, two per grade grouping from sixth through twelfth grades. However, this year eight young women will be honored.
“This annual event highlights young women who are making significant and remarkable contributions to their communities,” said Theodore Dallas, secretary of the Maryland Department of Human Resources. “These young ladies are truly our future leaders.”
The Maryland Commission for Women, established by the Maryland Legislature in 1971, promotes the social, political, and economic equality of Maryland women. It advises government, advances solutions, and serves as a statewide resource to expand social, political, and economic opportunities for all women.
The Baltimore County 2011 Women of Tomorrow Award honorees include:
Grades 7-8: Honorable Mention – Alexandra Comegys, Saint Ursula School
Grade 12: Honorable Mention – Meredith Good-Cohn, Garrison Forest School
Alexandra Comegys
Ally resides in Nottingham, Maryland and is a thirteen-year-old eighth grader at Saint Ursula School (SUS). She was diagnosed with Asthma as a young toddler and since then she has always loved the medical field. She is always assisting in the care of sick family members and so much so that the family nick-named her the “nester.”
In 2010, Ally started a group called Whimsy Girl 211. This non-profit organization collects new and gently used dresses for young girls who are homeless or in a shelter. The organization has collected hundreds of dresses and distributed them to shelters in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. She feels it is important for little girls to have self-esteem. If they are unable to have a “new” dress because of their circumstances, she asks her school community and parish to help with donations.
Another special project that she will continue yearly will be a fundraiser to benefit cancer research. She and her friend raised $1050, in honor of their grandfathers.
In school, Ally has been actively participating in donating crayons and coloring books for the Pediatric Clinical Research Unit (PCRU) at Johns Hopkins Hospital for years. She uses her allowance to buy these items several times a year and takes them to the child life specialist on the PCRU. Ally enjoys visiting the hospital and looks forward to being a volunteer when she gets older.
In school, Ally is a very active participant in academics, sports, and extra-curricular activities. Academically, she has maintained an A+/B+ average throughout her SUS education. Her current grade point average in school is 3.8. Ally was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) in March 2010. A responsibility she takes on is to tutor students who may need help with their academics. She also won honorable mention for her Science Fair Project in 5th grade, and won 1st place in 7th grade.
She was accepted to five high schools and chose to attend Institute of Notre Dame. She was granted an academics award at IND and accepted into the Biomedical Program.
Meredith Good-Cohn
Meredith Good-Cohn is a senior at Garrison Forest School in Owings Mills, MD. The list of volunteer endeavors on her resume is impressive, as is the high degree of leadership she brings to each. Meredith was selected as the inaugural James Center Service and Leadership Fellow, a position created to encourage service for all Garrison students. She helped to create this new role, which combines her passion for community service and her desire to help others become effective leaders.
As the James Center Fellow, she has created a leadership-training program for Garrison Forest student club leaders and is incorporating leadership and service components into the School’s academic curriculum based on the quantitative and qualitative data that she collects. She was elected in fall 2010 as the President of Baltimore’s Student Congress for Service (BSCS), a community service coalition comprised of student representatives from 15 different independent, public, and parochial high schools in the Baltimore region.
This fall she organized students from many area schools to recycle the trash generated by people running in Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. She was on site at 5 a.m. and stayed long after to clean up after 40,000 people in the race. Her efforts did not go unnoticed. There was an article in a local paper about her the following week. Currently, she is leading another project through the Mayor of Baltimore’s office to renovate an inner city pool. Meredith served as Sophomore Class President and as student representative to both the as also represented her school at the Model United Nation at University of Virginia .nd served as head of Art r new familieAlumni Board and Board of Trustees. She has a respected and prominent voice on vital issues affecting her school. She has also been asked to sit on panels for the admissions office and to be part of the new student orientation at the beginning of each school year.
