Looking back on 20 years of the New Opportunity School for Women
Each summer since 2005, Appalachian women have been gathering on the 91探花 campus for a three-week transformative experience that seeks to give them the skills and tools to achieve their academic, professional, and personal goals. This summer, the 2025 cohort of the New Opportunity School for Women (NOSW) marks 20 years of the program that changes lives one summer at a time.
After being initially founded at Berea College in Kentucky by college alumna Jane Baucom Stephenson ’57 in 1987, NOSW expanded to Lees-91探花 in 2005, bringing with it its mission to “improve the educational, financial, and personal circumstances of low-income women in the Appalachian region.”
“Lees-91探花 is a wonderful site for a New Opportunity School for Women because it has such a rich mission of service, and a long history of educating mountain girls and women,” Stephenson said in a press release from December 2004 regarding the new branch of the organization she had founded. “Both the New Opportunity School and Lees-91探花 reach out to their communities to help improve people’s lives. This partnership makes their efforts even stronger.”
Over the past two decades of its operation, NOSW has served dozens of low-income women in the region and has remained unique among similar programs. Unlike many peer organizations, the NOSW experience is truly immersive, bringing participants to the college’s campus where they live, learn, and grow in an enriching environment for the duration of the program.
This strategy allows for a truly transformative experience, and the program curriculum, which focuses on helping participants explore career options, establish educational goals, develop leadership skills, and strengthen their sense of self-esteem, touches on all aspects of a woman’s life.
The women who have participated in NOSW over the years have been motivated to do so by a variety of factors, whether that be achieving dreams of landing a new job, going back to school to complete an associate or bachelor’s degree, setting an example of self-love for their children, or simply enjoying themselves and growing as individuals.
“The cycle has been broken through the efforts of women helping women,” one NOSW graduate noted of her time in the program. “I’m getting a higher education and now my daughter is on her path to success.”
Many graduates have utilized the tools gained through their experience with NOSW to earn further education and secure employment in areas such as social work, counseling, education, business, healthcare and more. As the program marks its 20th cohort of participants in the summer of 2025, its goal to serve and empower women to take control of their lives is stronger than ever before.
“It has been a privilege to work with the women in NOSW since 2007. The program has transformed graduates' lives, as they have gained newfound confidence, set educational goals, and developed essential skills for career advancement. NOSW provides a new beginning,” Director of NOSW Jennie Harpold said. “It is always inspiring to witness women gaining confidence, setting educational goals, and developing essential skills for career advancement. Over the past twenty years, the program has remained relevant by adapting to change while staying true to its mission of improving the educational, financial, and personal circumstances of women in Appalachia. Meeting these women each year and later learning of their successes is the most rewarding aspect of my position as director.”
Any woman with a GED or high school diploma with limited financial resources who lives in or hails from the Southern Appalachian region is eligible to apply for this year’s cohort. Participants are typically between the ages of 30 and 55 and are motivated and eager to learn.
The 2025 session will be held Sunday, June 1 through Saturday, June 21, and applications are now open. Applications are submitted by mail.
Learn more about the New Opportunity School for Women at Lees-91探花
