Raihanna Sahak, a 2020 graduate of Kent-Meridian High School, was selected as a Dell Scholar and will receive a $20,000 scholarship, a new laptop and other stipends when she heads off to the University of Washington in the fall.
“I am excited about my future,” Sahak said in a Kent School District website posting. “I am so appreciative and grateful for this scholarship. This scholarship means the world to me and it will help me focus on my schoolwork at UW.”
Funded by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, dedicated to enabling children and youth to achieve their potential, the Dell Scholars program offers an opportunity for under-served and lower income students to realize their dream of a college education. The scholarships are offered to students for full-time study to complete a bachelor’s degree program.
Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of Texas-based Dell Inc., which makes personal computers. Dell became CEO in 2016 of the newly formed parent company, Dell Technologies. He founded the company in 1984 while attending the University of Texas in Austin.
“I can’t think of a more hardworking and determined young person to receive this honor,” said Avi Barnes, Kent-Meridian Upward Bound advisor, about Sahak.
The Dell Foundation gives out 500 scholarships a year and in 17 years has awarded aid to more than 5,300 students with nearly 2,500 college graduates among them.
In addition to the scholarship and laptop, the winners receive personalized, multifaceted support for the academic, financial, and emotional life challenges that may prevent students from completing college, Chegg credits ($500 annually for four years) to be used for textbook purchases and rentals and/or textbook solutions (via Chegg Study) and a Scholars Resource Network that connects students and their families with resources to deal with stress, debt, managing child care and life circumstance.
For more information, go to dellscholars.org.
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Raihanna Sahak. COURTESY PHOTO, Kent School District
