Scholarship recipients

DEARBORN—The American Association of Yemeni Students and Professionals’
(AAYSP) Michigan chapter awarded 19 scholarships to deserving high school
seniors at its 7th annual scholarship gala on Wednesday, May 20 at
the Bint Jebail Cultural Center.

AAYSP presented Dearborn Public Schools Superintendent
Brian Whiston with the Administrator of the Year Award; Fari Alshaibani, with
the Community Leader Award; Eman Ahmed, Community Activist Award; Sharifah
Ahmed, Diana Alqadhi, Derek Clark, Joshua Kaye with the Educator of the Year
Award and Siham Saleh with the Student of the Year Award.

AAYSP president Wadhah Almadhagi discussed the
organizations accomplishments over the past year.

“We’ve been working hard to continually provide important
services to the community,” Almadhagi said. “The scholarship gala is one of our
biggest contributions, but we also provide mentoring and networking programs,
college tours and many other great services.”

 Jeehan Abdul Ghaffar, senior advisor to the executive
director of World Bank Group served as the event’s keynote speaker. He talked
about the importance of earning a college education and encouraged students to
follow their dreams.

“Education, indeed, is not only the best investment, it
has the power to unify us all under one great goal of making the world a better
place for all of us,” she said.

Abdul Ghaffar said it was important to focus on increasing
college enrollment among Yemeni women. She added that Yemen has a rich history
of powerful women.

“My parents taught me that as a woman, I need to
remember that I come from a nation that is very proud of its queens, Queen
Sheba and Queen Arwa. I have a responsibility towards my community, my country
and the world,” she said.

The Scholarship Gala also marked the 11-year anniversary
of AAYSP. Thousands of dollars in scholarships were awarded to students from Dearborn,
Detroit and Hamtramck.

 “We’re committed to advancing the community forward,” he
said. “We’re going to keep on pushing, and we won’t stop until we get there.”