Y.O.U. Staff Members Awarded 2025 Employee Scholarships
July 3, 2025 | By Dani Young, Communications & Marketing Specialist
Congratulations to the following Y.OU. staff members for receiving this year’s employee scholarship — Tiah Boyd, Molly Feghali, Candice Himes and Gloria Otis!
In 2019, Y.O.U. began the Carol Rivchun Development (C.R.E.D.) Fund Employee Scholarship to allow full-time staff to further their professional development. Each year, staff members apply to support an education of their choosing.
The fund, established through a generous donation from the Swaminathan and Garg Foundation, is administered by College Now, a Cleveland-based non-profit that specializes in designing and delivering educational funding opportunities. Special thanks to former Y.O.U. President & CEO Carol Rivchun and Foundation Founder and Y.O.U. Board Member Sanjay Garg. The scholarship is named after Rivchun, who led Y.O.U. from 1998 to 2018 and strongly advocated for continuing education of her staff.
Here is what our staff members are planning with their scholarships:
Tiah Boyd, Career Pathways Navigator — Certified Youth Wellbeing Coach through Youth Coach Institute
“My goal in life is to help as many people as possible. This course will help me help others. Within the course I will be challenged to take my coaching skills from beginner to intermediate. This will be a tool added to my coaching toolbox that I can use in my current and future roles.
This course will help strengthen my core competencies, particularly coaching and mentoring. The course will challenge me to demonstrate my youth coaching skills by utilizing hands on experiential learning and evaluations. I hope to gain knowledge regarding the psychology and neuroscience behind coaching and how to implement these findings in my role.”
Molly Feghali, Director of PACE, Training & Curriculum — Financial Success for Nonprofits Certificate from Cornell
“This opportunity will directly support my long-term career and educational aspirations by equipping me with the knowledge and skills necessary to advance my career at Y.O.U. As I continue to grow within the organization, expanding my responsibilities and increasing my impact, I recognize the importance of deepening my expertise in key areas such as financial analysis, budgeting and cash flow management, fundraising and revenue generation, and strategic nonprofit governance.
Gaining a strong foundation in these disciplines will be essential to making informed, high-level decisions that align with the organization’s mission and long-term sustainability. This professional development will not only enhance my ability to contribute strategically but will also prepare me to lead with greater confidence and effectiveness in the future.”
Candice Himes, Director of Human Resources & Talent Management — Certified Workplace Mediator & Trainer in Conflict Resolution
“Conflict is going to occur in the workplace. This will give me the tools to better assist the team to resolve these conflicts. It will also assist in helping others work through the roadblocks that occur while trying to resolve conflict.
One of the core values of Y.O.U. is trust and accountability. I think that by having skills to effectively mediate situations, this creates trust and accountability amongst the Y.O.U. Team which makes me a better senior leader as well as HR professional. As an HR Professional, I am always looking at growing and sharpening my skills. Also if we are able to solve conflict more effectively, we can better serve the mission of Y.O.U.”
Gloria Otis, Career Readiness Facilitator — Leadership Program
“This program focuses on three key areas: the self as a leader, leadership as a relationship with your team, and the environment in which teams are situated. I chose this program because it offers an ample real-world approach to leadership that aligns with my existing work and responsibilities. Having supervised youth, mentoring, and advising as well as leadership in professional development—including career coaching, resume building, interview prep, and leadership training—having a framework that deepens my understanding of leadership as a relationship and equips me to respond effectively to different team dynamics. The situational theory of leadership presented in this course gives me a structured yet adaptable approach that matches the variety of roles and personalities encountered.
This program enhances my ability to lead youth and young adults with more intentionality and flexibility including colleagues. It strengthens the skills I’ve used in leading, mentoring, advising, and instructing by giving me tools to adapt my leadership style based on personality, communication needs, and situational factors. With Y.O.U., I can better foster team connection, a safe environment, and growth. Personally, this program helps me become a more self-aware and effective leader, capable of guiding diverse teams through everyday tasks and larger transformations.”