McDonald’s Awards $500,000 in Scholarships to 55 AAPI Students
By Carl Samson
McDonald’s USA announced the 55 awardees of its first Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) Scholarship Program on Tuesday, keeping up with its “commitment to educating and supporting future leaders.”
The scholarship recipients were selected for their academic achievement, leadership record and community involvement, while emphasis was placed on first-generation college attendees and high financial need.
Of the awardees, 96% are first-generation immigrants, 76% live below the poverty line and 36% are the first in their family to attend college.
Fifteen received four-year scholarships, while 40 got one-year scholarships for a total amount of $500,000.
Conceived in November 2019, the program, in partnership with APIA Scholars, underscores McDonald’s commitment to educating and supporting future leaders. It recognizes disparities within the APIA community and seeks to bridge gaps by offering financial support to deserving students.
“When we created the McDonald’s/APIA Scholarship program last year, we had no idea that the need for educational support would become greater as a result of the pandemic,” said Jimmy Ferguson, a Texas-based McDonald’s owner and APIA Scholars board member. “McDonald’s has always invested in the education of students and future leaders, so we couldn’t be happier to lend a hand and provide financial support for APIA students who are making their dreams of higher education come true.”
APIA Scholars, the country’s leading nonprofit that provides college scholarships for APIAs, notes that the top 10% of the community earn more than 10 times the bottom 10%. The fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the community could only make the gap worse.
Additionally, while half of APIAs have graduated from college, only 25% of all Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and Southeast Asian Americans finish higher education. Of this year’s McDonald’s awardees, 55% are Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and Southeast Asian Americans.
The scholarship application period for the next batch of awardees is open until Jan. 14, 2021. Prospective applicants may apply here.
Below is the full list of this year’s awardees:
- Muhammad Abdullah (Woodland, CA) attending American River College
- Nuha Asad (New York, NY) attending Fordham University
- Gobinda Bastola (Louisville, KY) attending University of Louisville
- Michelle Dedeles Bermudes (Mangilao, Guam) attending University of Guam
- Keeya Pomaikai Bicoy (Maunaloa, HI) attending Grand Canyon University
- Gemma Cabias (Wahiawa, HI) attending University of Nevada-Las Vegas
- Erica Chen (Elmhurst, NY) attending Stony Brook University
- Kiln Chen (New York, NY) attending University of Pennsylvania
- Lang Cheng (Medford, MA) attending Brandeis University
- Ysabel David (Berkeley, CA) attending Scripps College
- Maricar De Castro (Falls Church, VA) attending St. Olaf College
- Erin Jade Devera (Waipahu, HI) attending Creighton University
- Timothy Niu Faupusa (West Valley, UT) attending Salt Lake Community College
- Helen Gao (Akron, OH) attending University of Maryland-Baltimore County
- Youssef Hasweh (Brooklyn, NY) attending University of Chicago
- Way Myo Hlaing (San Diego, CA) attending University of Southern California
- Tri Ho (Chicago, IL) attending Yale University
- Lesly Duroni Ibarra (Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands) attending Washington State University
- Hassan Javed (Avon Park, FL) attending Columbia University in the City of New York
- Tracy Jiang (Brooklyn, NY) attending Harvard University
- Figs Ju (Omaha, NE) attending University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Keonaona Keo (Hauula, HI) attending Brigham Young University-Provo
- Mujahedulislam Rukhshan Khan (Hamtramck, MI) attending University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- Nischal Khatri (Medford, MA) attending Colby College
- Samantha Leung (Brooklyn, NY) attending Stony Brook University
- Aaliyah Mae Lewis (Tacoma, WA) attending Gonzaga University
- Mai Nou Lor (North Saint Paul, MN) attending University of Wisconsin-River Falls
- Muskan Manzoor (Houston, TX) attending Fashion Institute of Technology
- Ku Mo (Saint Paul, MN) attending University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
- Noor Aminah Binti Mohamad (Portland, OR) attending Portland Community College
- Hassan Mohiuddin (Rochester, NY) attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Jason Duy Nguyen (San Diego, CA) attending University of California, Los Angeles
- Stephanie Nguyen (San Diego, CA) attending University of California San Diego
- Kang Ou (Fremont, OH) attending The Ohio State University – Columbus Campus
- Raj Pandya (Warrenton, MO) attending Yale University
- Cynthia Pham (Crystal, MN) attending University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
- Maliyah Pham (Greeley, CO) attending Colorado State University-Fort Collins
- Marcia Phan (Orlando, FL) attending University of Central Florida
- Warren Quan (San Francisco, CA) attending Princeton University
- Hlin H Rahlan (Charlotte, NC) attending Central Piedmont Community College
- Lea-Ann Sado-Elvenia (Wailuku, HI) attending Hawaii Pacific University
- Kee Lah Soe (Saint Paul, MN) attending Hamline University
- Daryca Sok (Garland, TX) attending Baylor University
- Mahnoor Sultan (Greensboro, GA) attending Mercer University
- Kiki Tang (Fort Myers, FL) attending University of Central Florida
- Esther Taufa’asau (Pago Pago, American Samoa) attending Oregon State University
- Mavaeao Falesoa Tili (Pago Pago, American Samoa) attending American Samoa Community College
- Kasang Lhadon Tobtsang (Woodside, NY) attending Columbia University in the City of New York
- Thane Noble Todd (Hilo, HI) attending University of Nevada-Reno
- Michelle Nhu Tran (Kailua, HI) attending University of Hawaii at Manoa
- Emily Truong (Lakewood, CO) attending University of Southern California
- Michelle Truong (Houston, TX) attending West Texas A&M University
- Sara Zhang (Chicago, IL) attending University of Southern California
- Annie Zhang (Bridgewater, NJ) attending Rutgers University-New Brunswick
- Sabrina Zheng (Brooklyn, NY) attending Stony Brook University
Feature Image (Cropped) via McDonald’s USA
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