2022 Scholarship Winners
By Herman Houston (’67), Scholarship Chair
Each year, the FAA&F awards five $2,000 Scholarships established from an endowment. However, with over forty (40) outstanding applications to consider, awarding just five scholarships seemed like an impossible task. Fortunately, with contributions from Alumni Board, Committee Members, and caring Quaker alumni, we are able to announce thirteen $2,000 Scholarship Awardees. I cannot help but parody the saying, “A rising endowment raises all scholarships.” The additional eight allocations will help change a life.
While we often think G.P.A. when scholarships are awarded, our committee understands that the Quaker student community moves forward under many definitions of scholarship. Of course, we have the applications with soaring scholastic achievement, and we do not lose sight of those students who have touched the stars. At the same time, we know not every student is going to college, and have set their sights on a meaningful career which can be developed in vocational school. We read life stories that have our students thinking that they are ‘less than;’ sometimes our scholarships become beacons that motivates a student to step forward. A Franklin Scholarship acts both as a motivation toward, and then as an acknowledgement of, self-worth. Our first-generation Franklin families often see our scholarship as the light at the end of the tunnel.
We welcome your support to build our endowment or enrich our yearly scholarship fund. You may also reach out to the committee to explore establishing a scholarship with a particular interest. Our e-mail address is ScholarshipFranklin@yahoo.com
This year the Franklin Alumni Association and Foundation (FAA&F) celebrates the following 2022 Quaker scholarship investments:
FATIA AME – “I plan on attending Seattle University to study Nursing. I have always been interested in being a nurse because I want to return to Kenya and help my people. Specifically in my community, there are a not enough people in the community to help with the health issues.”
BAMLAKU ASMARE – “My goal after college is to be a Software/Website developer for businesses, and until I can start one of my own. I wish to create a software that makes it easier for people to send money to charities, families, and /or friends globally’.
DELANO CARDOVA – “I learned that teaching is hard because there are not perfectly right or wrong choices. Choosing which of your actions will benefit the students and which actions will deter them from trying is a harder task than you realize.”
ETSUBDINK DEMILE – “For as long as I can remember, I have been following clinical work and researchers’ experiences by reading numerous books and articles. Researchers like Dr. Michael W. Otto have also influenced my desire to conduct more research on anxieties and other mental health issues.”
ASHLEY GAIBOR – “It is through those lived & learned experiences that I confidently know who I am and what I want. I am a trailblazing, determined, communally-oriented, 1st generation, LatinaX-Woman.”
AMIRA HAJI – “I plan to secure justice for the "others" in life by studying pre-law and becoming a criminal justice lawyer. Getting the proper arsenal to fight back the new norm is an accomplishment I strive to achieve.”
HECTOR HERAS – “…I want to help create more sustainable energy. I want to help marginalized populations and communities have access to clean energy. To be an electrical engineer means to find ways to create a better place for all of us to live, and I think that it is a very important privilege to be able to enact that change.”
MYSHAYA HILLARD – “I am a hard-working individual that wants to thrive at everything I do; and I have always lived by a saying by Maya Angelou, ‘My goal in life is not to merely survive but to thrive, and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.”
SELINA HUANG – ”I hope that after college I’ll find a job as an illustrator and make illustrations that make people happy. Art has brought me joy and helped save my life. I hope that I’ll be able to support myself with my art as I live alone. I’ve been drawing for around seven years now, and it means the world.”
VICKY HUANG – “Emboldened with newfound courage to tackle future unknowns, I am eager and excited to build my personal and professional skills to seize the opportunities presented in college and to explore my ideas. Growing from that child who hid away, I now stand tall to reach for my dreams.”
JUDY KUANG – “During my high school years, I noticed a lack of female representation in the STEM fields. As a female myself, I find it crucial to challenge those standards and be one to pursue acareer in STEM through higher education.”
JASMINE MARTIN – - ”My motivation for applying to college is to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health by obtaining a degree in Mental Health, with a focus on children and young adults so that I can make a difference in my community.”
JOMMEL PASTORES - “…and the Pandemic has been hard for everyone. And simply trying to bounce back when it seems like the world is falling apart in a number of ways can be beyond difficult.”
It is such an honor to be the Chair of the Scholarship Committee with members Barbara Mahoney, ElDoris Turner, Sue Anderson, and Steve Mar, (all (’67). Thank you!