STUDENT AWARDED $25,000 FOR COLLEGE

Meadowcreek High’s Awad receives honor from Alger Association.

A Gwinnett County high school student has just received a sizable contribution to her future college tuition bill.

Hana Awad, a senior at Meadowcreek High School, is the recipient of a $25,000 scholarship from the Horatio Alger Association. Awad was presented with the award during a surprise visit to the school by alumni of the Alger Association.

Awad, who shed tears of joy when presented with the scholarship, said she was humbled by the award, according to a news release.

“I am so excited and thankful for the honor,” Awad said. “The Horatio Alger Association sees something special in me that the world needs, and I am excited to see how their aid and investment in me will lead me to do things no one can imagine. As Alan Turing, the father of Computer Science would say, ‘Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of, who do the things no one can imagine,’ and I believe that Horatio Alger will get me there.”

As one of the nation’s largest college financial aid programs in the country, the Horatio Alger National Scholarship Program specifically assists high school students who have faced and overcome great obstacles in their young lives. The scholarships are funded by Horatio Alger members who, like the scholars, have experienced challenges but ultimately overcame them to become successful business and civic leaders. Jordyn Mills, a Meadowcreek High counselor, said she believes Awad has a bright future, saying, “Hana is extremely deserving of this incredible scholarship. She has overcome so much in such a short amount of time and it has been an absolute pleasure getting to know her the past couple of years. I could not be more excited for the amazing opportunities ahead of her.”

To be eligible for the Horatio Alger National Scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

■ Be enrolled full-time as a high school senior in the United States

■ Be progressing normally toward graduation in spring/summerwith plans to enter acollege inthe United States no later than the fall following graduation

■ Exhibit a strong commitment to pursue and complete a bachelor’s degree at an accredited nonprofit public or private institution in the United States (students may start their studies at a two-year institution and then transfer to a four-year institution)

■ Demonstrate critical financial need ($55,000 or lower adjusted gross family income is required)

■ Be involved in co-curricular and community service activities

■ Display integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity

■ Maintain a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0

■ Be a United States citizen.

For more information, go to scholars.horatioalger.org

The Horatio Alger program specifically assists high school students who have faced and overcome great obstacles.

CONTRIBUTED Senior Hana Awad, presented with honor in a surprise visit to Meadowcreek High by association alumni, said, “The Horatio Alger Association sees something special in me that the world needs, and I am excited to see how their aid and investment in me will lead me to do things no one can imagine.”