Lisa Sagario Swett: From Awardee to Leader
As Soroptimists, we know education is the key to women's empowerment. Ensuring girls have access to quality education is a way to provide them a lifeline when they need it most. In addition to giving them strengthened hope for the future, education also provides consistency, a sense of normalcy, and even physical safety in some cases. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed January 24 as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development.
Lisa Sagario Swett is a past Live Your Dream Awards recipient who rose up to serve as the Camino Real Region Live Your Dream Awards Chair. Read about her inspiring journey.
In 2019, I heard about Soroptimist International of the Americas, Inc., while attending Rio Hondo College, studying child development. I was a single mother of three and a member of the CalWORKs program, which helps parents who are low-income students. I had never heard of Soroptimist, but a fellow student encouraged me to apply for their Live Your Dream Award. I applied and was chosen!
When the region chair, Christina, reached out to me, I told her that I was a speaker for the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), where I inspire those with mental health issues by sharing my story. She asked if I could be a speaker for Soroptimist and encourage women to apply for the award. Embracing the opportunity, I felt so empowered that I could make a difference and become a beacon of hope for other women.
“With the help of the Live Your Dream Award, I earned associate degrees in both child development and early childhood education and may further my education when my children are older. I have been working as an instructional aide for special needs education for five years, and I am also a mental health motivational speaker and peer support connections facilitator for NAMI.”
Christina reached out to me again the following year with the exciting news that she was chartering a Soroptimist club and invited me to become a member. Then in 2021, I received the opportunity to co-chair the Live Your Dream Awards for our club. Serving as club chair was such an amazing experience. To this day, I stay in touch with our past awardees, regularly checking in to ask about any resources they may need to focus on their education.
This year I received a special honor when I was asked to serve as the region Live Your Dream Awards chair. It was an unexpected opportunity—something I envisioned doing five years from now, not in the next five minutes! Without hesitation, I accepted the role and was excited to empower more women through education the way I had been. That is what Soroptimist is all about: empowering others so they can empower many.
My club is just two years old, and we have done amazing things to increase access to education for women and girls in our community. We collaborated with another club to host a wonderful Dream It, Be It event. This event featured a panel for our young ladies to ask questions to professionals from diverse fields, including a lieutenant, film editor, professor with a PhD in psychology, paralegal, and an ICU pharmacist.
Our club has a diverse mix of talented women spanning ages from 30 to 80. This blend of youth and experience results in many new ideas infused with wisdom, ensuring a continuous commitment to empowering women through access to education. Since becoming a Soroptimist, I have boosted my confidence and leadership skills significantly.
“My children witness the positive impact I make through Soroptimist, and my husband has expressed his admiration for my Soroptimist involvement because it brings out the best version of me.”
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