Rotary Club of Dearborn awards $73K in scholarships to 27 students
The Rotary Club of Dearborn continued its annual tradition of awarding scholarships to area students to further their education. In early May, the organization held a special dinner at the Welcome Center (Building WC on the main campus) to honor the 2024 scholarship recipients.
Dearborn Rotary awarded its first scholarship in 1924, a year after the club was chartered by Rotary International in 1923. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Rotary awarding its first scholarship.
HFC political science instructor Dr. Eric Rader, who also serves as the chair of the Dearborn Rotary Foundation, said the scholarship program has expanded significantly over the past century to include seven categories. This year, 27 students, including three veterans, earned scholarships totaling $73,500.
"Every year, Dearborn Rotary gives away more than $60,000 in scholarship money to Dearborn-based high school students,” said Rader. “We're proud to support these deserving and exceptional students in their post-secondary educational journeys. We have several scholarship programs, including a nursing scholarship that's a partnership between Dearborn Rotary and HFC. Almost all of our scholarship recipients are Dearborn Public Schools students, including many who attend the Henry Ford Early College here on campus and many who end up attending HFC. It's an honor to be able to help these hard-working young people succeed and we know great things will happen for them in the future."
Scholarship winners demonstrate high academic achievement
Scholarships awarded to high school seniors in Dearborn and to HFEC graduates are in four merit-based categories. Each award category is endowed by or honors a past Dearborn Rotarian, who recognized the importance of education and sought to pay their own success forward by helping outstanding youth with college and vocational expenses. Award amounts range from $2,500 to $9,500.
Dearborn Rotarian Martha Hnatiuk presented the Hugh M. Archer Scholarship, established in memory of the Dearborn resident who founded the Spiratex Company in Romulus and who also served as Rotary International Director, International General Secretary, and International President. Thomas Besek of Dearborn High School and Hiba Obeid, who is dual enrolled at Fordson High School and HFC, are the recipients of this year’s Archer Scholarship.
“The students receiving these awards are among the best students throughout the district,” said Hnatiuk. “This event gave peers and parents an opportunity to witness the amazing potential that exists in our community.”
Rader, also a Dearborn Rotary Past President, presented the Past Presidents Leadership Scholarship to four students who will attend a Michigan-based college or university this fall. The recipients include Nour Alzerjawi, who attends the HFEC, and three graduating high school seniors – Aya Moughni of DHS, Asma Saleh of Fordson, and Ava Steinhebel of Edsel Ford High School.
Dearborn Rotarian and Past President Lee Hollmann presented the Dearborn Rotary Nursing Scholarship, established in conjunction with the Henry Ford College Foundation. This year, scholarships were awarded to two HFC nursing students – Yasmina Ataya and Lama Bazzi.
The largest scholarship category is the Otto J. Rowen Vocational Scholarship, which honors the memory of the former Rotarian, teacher, and principal in the DPS. Dearborn Rotary established the trust fund administered by the Dearborn Rotary Foundation to provide scholarships for Dearborn students who are the best representatives in their vocational areas as recommended by their instructors. The awards can be used for expenses related to their vocational pursuits. Of this year’s 15 recipients, Rader said that several will attend HFC in the fall.
Awarding more than $600K in scholarships since 1999
Founded in 1923, the Rotary Club of Dearborn is the city’s oldest service organization and is a proud member of Rotary International, bringing more than 1.4 million members in more than 46,000 individual clubs together to live the motto of “Service Above Self.”
Since 1999, the Dearborn Rotary Foundation has awarded a total of more than $600,000 in scholarships. Completed applications are due in mid-January of each year with committee selections finalized in March.
“These young women and men are highly motivated and hard-working individuals with bright futures ahead of them,” said Rader, “We can all be proud that such talented people have come from this community and will lead it in the future.”