Lemkie Scholarship

Daisy Recinos, CASL, Communication

The 2020 Lemkie Scholarship recipient is Daisy Recinos. The scholarship was established in 2018 in honor of Nancy Lemkie, who founded and was the driving force behind SOAR in the late 1990’s.

 “Learning I was this year’s Lemkie scholarship recipient was exciting and made me more determined to finish my degree. I’ve received other scholarships, but this one is special,” said Daisy, a CASL communication major. “SOAR was my opening to a world full of new opportunities. I don’t think I could have made it this far without SOAR.”

As a first generation, working, nontraditional student, Daisy initially focused exclusively on excelling in her courses, but over time has become much more engaged on campus, first as a student assistant in College-Wide Programs and then as a social media and public relations intern in the SOAR office. Prior to starting at UM-Dearborn, Daisy developed a love of photography and videography during travels to the Philippines and South Korea, "I know how important it is to share one’s culture with others and to be open to others. The camera gives me a way to do that." Daisy credits, SOAR alum, Elissa Gonzalez for encouraging her to bring those skills into her UM-Dearborn experience, saying “SOAR is a community where we encourage and energize one another. Elissa (SOAR alum, CASL, 2019) mentored me and pushed me to become more involved in my major and on campus.”