Somaya Amiri: Afghan immigrant studying in Vancouver wins $100,000 Loran scholarship

Sir Charles Tupper student Somaya Amiri, 17, a refugee from Afghanistan, overcame remarkable odds to be named a Loran Scholar and will receive up to $100,000 over four years to attend university. (John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail)
Sir Charles Tupper student Somaya Amiri, 17, a refugee from Afghanistan, overcame remarkable odds to be named a Loran Scholar and will receive up to $100,000 over four years to attend university. (John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail)

DAVID GESELBRACHT for Globe & Mail – Feb. 25 2015: When Somaya Amiri was a little girl, she’d watch each morning as her big brother hoisted a backpack over his shoulders and walked to school in Afghanistan’s Behsood District. She remembers desperately wanting to go too.

The day she decided to follow him, her father noticed she was missing from the house and caught up with her at the school. He was furious.

“When I got home my mom and grandmother were crying,” Ms. Amiri said in an interview. “They told me that when you are a girl, you don’t go to school.”

Ms. Amiri now finds herself pondering which of Canada’s top universities she will attend.

This month, the 17-year-old was among 30 Canadian high school students named Loran scholars. Under the program, she will receive up to $100,000 to fund four years of tuition. The scholarship also includes a mentorship program and money for summer internships.

The scholarship program was founded in 1988 with a view to granting awards based not just on academic achievement, but also for leadership potential and for service. Ms. Amiri’s response to winning the award was disbelief.

“I was crying,” she said. “I could barely talk.”

Click here to read this heart-warming story at Globe & Mail and at Vancouver Courier: http://www.theglobeandmail.comhttp://www.vancourier.com

Unknown's avatar

Author: ismailimail

Independent, civil society media featuring Ismaili Muslim community, inter and intra faith endeavors, achievements and humanitarian works.

One thought

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.