Women in International Trade Los Angeles (WIT-LA) is a California non-profit organization founded in 1985 by professional women in international trade. WIT-LA is now accepting applications for the Marjorie M. Shostak Scholarship Award. The Marjorie M. Shostak fund was established in November of 1995 to encourage women and men to pursue an education in an international field. The winner will receive a one-time award of $1000 and will be chosen by the WIT-LA Scholarship Committee. The award will be made directly to the recipient, who will be expected to apply the funds toward educational related expenses, for example, tuition, books, study abroad program or international trade related seminars/workshops.
Application forms and further information can be obtained by contacting WIT-LA at info@wit-la.org , (818) 951-2842 or by writing to: Women in International Trade - LA Scholarship Award, P.O. Box 4250 Sunland, CA 91041. The deadline for the application is November 25.
Applications should be postmarked by this date. The award will be presented to the scholarship recipient at the Annual WIT-mas Holiday Charity Benefit to be held in December. The Marjorie M. Shostak Scholarship is supported by fund-raising events and contributions from individuals and organizations. Marjorie M. Shostak is the senior member of the law firm of Stein Shostak Shostak & O'Hara, which specializes in U.S. Customs and International Trade Law. Ms. Shostak has been an active practitioner before the U.S. Court of International Trade and its predecessor, the U.S. Customs Court. She has represented clients in classification, valuation and penalty matters before the U.S. Customs Service in Washington D.C. and its Field offices. In 1980, Ms. Shostak was appointed by the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Secretary of Commerce, to serve as a technical member of the Industrial Functional Advisory Committee on U.S. Customs matters.
Ms. Shostak was the first woman to serve (from 1956-1962) as an officer and Director of the Foreign Trade Association of Southern California, on which half of the Board members are now women; the first woman recipient (in 1962) of prestigious Stanley T. Olafson Bronze Plaque Award, the highest honor in the Southern California international trade community, which is awarded the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce annually during World Trade Week and the first woman to serve as General Chairman of World Trade Week (in 1972). Ms. Shostak was the first recipient of the Foreign Trade Association's Distinguished Service Award, now named after her.
| 2007 | Roya Ladan | California State University Long Beach |
| 2006 | Megan Lysaght | California Lutheran University |
| 2005 | Allison Burtch | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| 2005 | Allison Dees | Pepperdine |
| 2004 | Christina Robertson | CSU Long Beach |
| 2003 | Christine Martell | Claremont McKenna |
| 2002 | Annette Margery Payne | Pepperdine |
| 2001 | Jonathan Hurst | UCLA |