Since its inception foundation has awarded over 100 scholarships.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The Upakar Foundation today announced its scholarship recipients for the class of 2017.
The five new recipients, including one who is the first ever community college awardee, join 14 previous winners whose scholarships will continue into the upcoming school year. The five newcomers are: Aiman Syeda of West Henrietta, New York; Parteek Singh of Yuba City, California; Rini Sinha of Pflugerville, Texas; Sarwat Siddiqui of Staten Island, New York; and Tamara Layden of Milwaukie, Oregon.
“Upakar has remained true to its core mission for sixteen years – promoting academic excellence in the face of financial challenges,” said treasurer Nithya Nagarajan.
Started in 1997, the Upakar Foundation was founded in the Washington, DC-metro area in an effort to debunk the stereotype that Indian-American students do not need financial aid because all their parents make enough money. The fact is that one in 12 Indian-American families makes less than $23,000, which is the current poverty line in the US for a family of four.
Since its inception, the Upakar Foundation has awarded 123 scholarships to students either born in India or who have at least one Indian-born parent. They must be either US citizens or hold a Green Card. They must also have a minimum raw high school Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.6 and, if their college GPAs meet or exceed 3.3, the scholarship can renew for another four years for post-graduate studies.
“Upakar is proud to expand its reach through the community college scholarships,” said president Jyotsna Gupta Jalil, in a statement. “As Upakar enters its second fifteen years, it must evolve to meet the needs of future scholars. We look forward to supporting our best and brightest as they pursue higher education.”
So what are the career goals of these five gifted youngsters? Syeda will attend Rochester Institute of Technology in New York in order to pursue her goal of being a physician assistant. Singh, the lone male of the bunch, will be at University of California (UC) Davis, studying biochemistry. Sinha will be going to University of Texas (UT) Austin for mechanical engineering. Siddiqui plans to study neuroscience at Fordham University. And Layden, the community college scholar, will go to Clackamas Community College, in Oregon, to pursure an Associate of Arts degree.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com