Arab Americans

Arab Americans on the Move

Leaders for the Next Generation

Posted on Wednesday July 18, 2007

Arab American Institute Foundation Announces Annual Scholarship and Award Recipients

Each year, the Arab American Institute Foundation (AAIF) awards scholarships and cash awards to deserving Arab American students in recognition of their achievements and for the pursuit of their future studies. We’d like to introduce you to the 2007 scholarship and award recipients in this special edition of Arab Americans on the Move, recognizing the next generation of Arab American leaders.

AAIF presents the Raymond Jallow Award for Public Service, the Helen Abbott Award for Community Service , and the Al-Muammar Scholarship for Journalism. This year’s recipients come from across the country and have a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Their interests range from law and medicine to journalism and environmental protection.

The Raymond Jallow Award recognizes students for their outstanding commitment to public service. Examples of public service include, but are not limited to, preparing for foreign service, clerking for a judge, running for office or specializing in public administration. This year’s recipient, Louisa Jihan Yanes, spent a semester as an intern in a law office in Ohio, and is a member of Amnesty International and Students for Social Action. Louisa will enter Vermont Law School in the fall of 2007 and plans to focus on environmental law.

The Helen Abbott Community Service Award recognizes students whose devotion to community service and interest in improving the quality of life for others reflect the life of the award’s namesake. This year’s award recipients, Rami Zayed , Rohima Ahmad and Dania Ayoubi, have all given back to their communities through teaching, working with children or volunteering in the medical field.

Rami and Rohima both hope to pursue careers in medicine. Rami is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering at Wichita State University. Rohima, a graduate of Fort Hamilton High School in New York, hopes to remain in her home city to work at clinics and hospitals in underrepresented areas. Dania graduated from Georgetown University in May with a bachelor’s degree in Government and Arabic Language, Literature and Linguistics. At Georgetown she contributed to various Muslim organizations in the region and on campus, and tutored elementary and high schools students. She will attend Georgetown Law Center in the fall of 2007.

AAIF’s newest scholarship, the Al-Muammar Scholarship for Journalism, is the most generous scholarship program of its kind offered to Arab American students.

The recipients this year are Nadia Taha, a graduate student at New York University, and Sarah Dajani, a rising junior at Princeton University. Nadia was hired by The New York Times this summer, and will finish her master’s degree in the fall.

Sarah is an opinion columnist for the Daily Princetonian and a book reviewer for the St. Petersburg Times. Sarah is continuing her journalistic pursuits at the Heikal Foundation and Al Ahram Weekly in Cairo, Egypt this summer.

Congratulations and best of luck to this year’s recipients! You can find out more about these opportunities, including information on past recipients and how to apply for next year’s awards and scholarships, by visiting AAIF’s Student Resource Center.