P.E.O. Chapter EX awards 2026 scholarship to Leah Helwig
P.E.O. Chapter EX gave Leah Helwig a $2,000 scholarship named for Julie Campbell Ringle, carrying a Bemidji women-helping-women tradition forward.
Leah Helwig received P.E.O. Chapter EX’s 2026 Julie Campbell Ringle Scholarship in Bemidji, a $2,000 award that honors the memory of former chapter president Julie Campbell Ringle. The scholarship keeps Ringle’s name in the local spotlight while giving a Bemidji student direct help with college costs.
The award carries more than financial value. It links Helwig’s education to a long-running Chapter EX tradition of supporting women’s advancement, and it preserves the legacy of a local leader whose name still carries weight in Bemidji civic life. The scholarship has been directed toward women receiving education in a health care field, which gives the award a clear professional focus as well as a commemorative one.
The scholarship website identifies Helwig as the 2025-2026 recipient and lists several recent honorees, including Elena Harmsen, Nichelle Wilson, Cassandra Bommersbach RN, Shannon Seibel, Serena Madden RN, Angela Higgenbotham RN and Megan Conlin MD. That roster shows the award has continued to recognize women moving through health-related education and practice, while Chapter EX has kept the scholarship tied to a specific local name and purpose.
P.E.O. says it was founded on Jan. 21, 1869, at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and that its mission is to help women advance through education. The organization says it has more than half a million members in the United States and Canada, nearly 5,500 chapters and a long relationship with Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri, which it has supported since 1927. P.E.O. also says its educational support has totaled more than $435 million for more than 125,000 women, including 10,015 STAR Scholarships since 2009 and 3,035 Scholar Awards since 1991.
For Bemidji and the surrounding area, Chapter EX’s scholarship is part of that larger network of private hometown support that helps students cover tuition, books and living costs. Bemidji State University notes that many local private organizations offer scholarships to help with college expenses, and this award is one of the most visible examples of that work in Beltrami County.
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