Scholarship

Awards to QC Undergraduate Students

The Asian/American Center is delighted to announce that we are able to continue offering the following two kinds of awards to students for 2020:

2020 Student Leadership Award Application, Procedure, and Recommendation Form

2020 Student Scholarship Application, Procedure and Faculty Recommendation Form

For Past Scholarship recipients looking to reapply, follow the links below:

2019 Scholarship Recipients

Shuqi Huang “My name is Shuqi Huang. I am an immigrant student and came from China three years ago. I have a double major in Childhood Education and Chinese. I received Asian/American Center’s scholarship last year, and feel so fortunate & proud to receive it again this year. The scholarship application states that the purpose of the scholarship program is to help those in need successfully complete their college education. The fact I am getting it for the second time shows that they really care about the students and are practicing what they say. This scholarship I am receiving will help ensure my graduation in may 2020.”

Basira Shirzad “My name is Basira Shirzad and I am honored to receive the Asian/American Center Scholarship Award. I am a sophomore pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science and I hope to get involved in the technology field… I am extremely grateful for this scholarship offered by the Asian/American Center as it will help me to grow and be successful in my career path.”

Xincheng Yang “My name is Xincheng, and I came to New York City ten years ago from Fuzhou, China… I am a Sophomore majoring in Secondary Math Education and my goal is to become a math teacher. For that, I need to both improve my English and take advanced Math and Computer Science courses in the summer… With the scholarship from the Asian/American Center, I will be able to take additional courses in summer, which will help me tremendously in boosting my academic progress and getting closer to achieving my goals.”

Sagar Saha “I transferred from the Borough of Manhattan Community College to continue my education here at Queens College… I was born in this country in an immigrant household and I am the first generation in my family to pursue higher education in the United States. It took me time to figure out my education path and now I am pursuing an education degree at Queens College. I know my passion is to become a math teacher. As an educator, I would like to educate future generations of students so that they can achieve their goals and aspirations. This scholarship will ease my financial burden and take pressure of my family and myself to pay for my college expenses.”

Guoshen Li “I am the first in my family to attend college. I value the opportunity and have tried my best to do well. Ever since I was a child, I have been passionate about helping people who are sick or in pain. After entering the college, I chose biology major since I wanted to be a doctor. Outside of college, I have been working with children with special needs. Like many immigrant families, life has not been easy for us. I am really grateful that Asian/American Center has granted me this scholarship, which will help me in time with the expenses of medical school applications when I graduate from Queens College next spring.”

Nabila Chowdhury “My name is Nabila Chowdhury. Firstly, I would like to thank the Asian/American Center for giving me the honor of receiving this scholarship again. But more importantly, thank you for creating the community I have found in A/AC. The Student Council is a precious space for Pan-Asian solidarity. Professor Khandelwal and Professor Wu have been amazing, sincere mentors to students like myself in the Student Council. They have always driven us towards further exploring our identities as Asian-Americans and identifying the commonalities between all of our experiences. Thank you for creating this space to be vibrantly Asian-American.”

Amanda Mercado “My name is Amanda Mercado. I am in the last semester of my junior year at Queens College. I’m pursuing a Spanish Bachelor’s degree along with Secondary Education and Youth Services Masters degree… I would like to thank the Asian/American Center for selecting me and honoring me with the Student Recognition Award. I am grateful for being given the opportunity to be standing here and for the chance to speak out. I encourage all of you to never give up on your dreams and to be determined to achieve everything you have dreamed about.”

2018 Scholarship Recipients

Nabila Chowdhury

Hi everyone, my name is Nabila Chowdhury. Firstly I’d like to thank to the Asian American Center for creating this scholarship and for supporting Asian Americans like myself that comes from varying classes, citizenship statuses, and identities.

In New York, the South Asian community is known for being isolationist. We have so much work to do in addressing the internal issues that we treat as taboo and showing solidarity with other minority communities. One of the biggest reasons why I chose to major in Political Science and applied for this scholarship is because I want the tools and resources to be able to change this trend in my community and create the representation we lack for ourselves. I will not be liberated until my community is liberated. My community will not be liberated until all communities are liberated. In the words of Assata Shakur, “We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

Thank you again.

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Runhui Deng

Hello everyone, welcome,my name is Runhui Deng. It is such an honor to make a speech here.

Asian/American Scholarships have greatly enlightened me. They facilitated my progress as a student in school and an individual in the community, and their influence is ongoing.

This Scholarship has not just helped me on the financial side, it also stands for enriching our community. By rewarding scholarships to students, the Asian/American Center illustrates its faith in the younger generations to pass on the traditions of truth, strength, and service.

This is the greatest honor to me.

Thank you everyone.

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Xinye Feng

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. My name is Xinye Feng, I’m a freshman studying music performance at Queens college. I have classes from 9 to 4, and sometimes I rehearse till 10 pm.

But I love music, and I chose this to be my major, to journey down a path that many do not take. Besides my passion for music, I have a bigger goal for myself. I came to the United States from Guangzhou, China, in 2000, when I was just 6 months old. My parents and my grandparents fled my home country due to religious oppression. They were tortured and sent to brainwashing camps. My family came to the United States, the land of the free, to practice their religion freely.

Growing up, I learned how to speak and read Chinese, but I had little knowledge about my culture or history. This scholarship will aid me in my musical studies here in Queens College, and hopefully I will become a great oboist and play in orchestras. Also the Asian American Center has helped me learn about my motherland, and I feel honored to be selected as a scholarship recipient. I’m deeply thankful to be given a chance to learn and prosper in Queens College as an Asian American. Thank you so much.

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Shuqi Huang

Good afternoon everyone. My name is Shuqi Huang. Two years ago, I came to America with a big dream. A dream to help more families like mine, who are struggling with taking care of a disabled family member, a dream to let everyone receive the education he deserves.

Sometimes things do get hard when you struggle to be independent and maintain good grades – you doubt that if all these efforts are worthy.

That is why I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to receive this scholarship.

It is not only a financial support for me to complete education at QC but also a priceless encouragement and motivation for me, as an Asian American, to dream high, dream big until I achieve my dream.

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Ka Leung

Good afternoon everyone, my name is Ka Leung. First I want to say thank you to Asian American Center.

The scholarship is going to help me a lot financially, it can support my college expenses such as tuition, textbook fee, transportation, and food. So that I can focus on my school work without worrying.

I am an immigrant, I have a mission which is to bring and promote Asian culture here. For me to accomplish that, I have to be well educated. With the support of the scholarship and the great education from Queens College, I will be successful and able to successfully promote Asian culture together with Asian American Center.

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Fawzia Shirzad

My Asian American experience has encouraged me to ambitiously seek out an education. Education is a right and a necessity, no doubt, but to see it in the light of a blessing has fostered my academic growth, as will this scholarship. I would like to thank the Asian American center for this scholarship, which I will use to invest in my education and my dream to pursue a career in Neuroscience.

2018 Leadership Award Recipients

Jabeen Cheema
It is a privilege to be receiving this Asian American Student Leadership Award from Asian/American Center of Queens College.

As a graduating senior, I must credit the Asian American Center for shaping me from a “someone” a few years ago to Jabeen, I am now. While taking on roles to challenge oneself is certainly important, in my view, it is equally important to seek meaning and understanding of one’s identity.

My personal interests have led me to be a part of various enterprises. Whether that be at the City Council as a participatory budgeting intern, the Ibrahim Leadership and Dialogue Middle East Program (where you spend 30days traveling different parts of the ME and learn about the social and economic issues of the region) or working with AALDEF through the A/AC, this experiential learning added to my identity and highlighted the significance of civic engagement. Igniting a much deeper and imperishable interest in public service and the confidence to be able to take leadership roles.

I learned that identity is not just based on biology, culture and religion. Through this journey of getting to know myself I feel empowered. I am a Muslim South Asian Women however I do not want to be boxed in categories.

My journey of self-identification has led me to discover an untouched capability within myself. The recognition that comes with this award is certainly reassuring to my energy and enthusiasm and I will continue to strive for higher goals in the future. This acknowledgment is truly meaningful to me and my fellow members and I want to thank Asian/American Center on behalf of many Queens College students like myself.

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Sarah Franco

Good afternoon everyone.

I would like thank the Asian/American Center, specifically Prof. Khandelwal and Dr. Wu, for their continuous efforts in supporting and encouraging student leaders. I would also like to thank the generous funding that made this award possible.

I have been involved in numerous leadership positions during my time here at QC. Some of these experiences include advocating for marginalized peoples through investigative work at the Bronx Defenders, a public defense and advocacy organization. My internship in the Queens Borough President’s Office allowed me to explore public service and advocacy through my work with the General Counsel there. My time as a Student Council Representative for A/AC these past three semesters has been particularly invaluable as I explored advancement of equality and diversity in practical ways.

As I graduate this semester, I move forward into the workforce well equipped with the leadership experiences I have had the opportunity to be involved in. This award will assist me towards my goals by providing funding towards my future plans to also attend law school. Thank you very much.

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Mahnoor Mirza

Thank You for selecting me for this award. Special thanks to Professor Khandelwal and Professor Wu for their guidance and for working with the Student Council with so much dedication. My time at the Council has been quite formative as I have learned so much more about what it means to be an Asian and an American and how as residents and citizens of this country, we need to be more active in our communities and our local politics. We can’t remain apathic to the going ons as it affects us all on every aspect of our lives. Even if we just choose an issue that resonates within us and work on it to create change, that work, when combined with the work of others who are striving towards similar goals, makes a vast difference.

Personally, I am passionate about female empowerment. A lot of progress has occurred over the past few decades, especially these past few years but women are still a minority in many high positions. In our Congress, there are only 105 women amongst a total of 535 members. Among the Fortune 500 companies, there are only 32 women CEOs. It is important that we keep working on this issue but also while keeping intersectionality in mind as well. It isn’t enough if we just focus on women in mainstream media or a specific group of women. Women, wherever they are, can benefit from empowerment since historically, women have often been degraded worldwide. As Audre Lorde puts it, “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”

This all culminates to being a reason why I created my club on campus called Nisa Student Association. I founded Nisa last year in hopes of empowering Muslim women specifically by being a support group where they can foster themselves intellectually, socially, and spiritually. Often, we are our own adversaries and don’t see our potential until there is someone who affirms our values. This group is especially important in light of the high increase in Islamophobia. I want our Nisa members to feel safe and respected for who they are and not what others expect them to be. I want them to be their own kind of leader and have a voice as “A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” —Melinda Gates

I hope to make Nisa a cornerstone of success and support for women of all backgrounds, across America. This will be a slow process but small steps will eventually become a movement. Currently, our club went from nothing to about 170 members. We have done various events such as on domestic abuse, civil rights, self-defense and much more.

To further my dream of making Nisa into an actual, living, nationwide organization, I plan on using my legal studies to help make a difference. I am going to law school next year and am hoping to pursue women’s rights law amongst other specializations. This award is essential to that dream as it re-affirms my values as a leader, as someone who wants to create positive change, as someone who is dedicated, and as someone who wishes to share this determination onward to the wider world. Like Maya Angelouu said: “I am a Woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal Woman, that’s me.”

So, thank you, once again.

2017 Scholarship Recipients

Ms. Mashiyat Alam, Junior, Biology
It’s hard to put a price on recognition. When I first got the email about this scholarship, I thought wow, this is the first scholarship I feel comfortable doing. And I’ve never really won one before either, so this was all very new to me. I thought, let’s give it a shot anyway. And I somehow got it, to my great astonishment. But to me, it’s not just about the money. It’s about the recognition that I am an Asian American, and my experiences, my voice, and my perspective matters. That’s what this scholarship means to me. My name is Mashiyat Alam, and I am a Biology major and a Japanese minor, and I am proud to be an Asian American. I want to thank everyone who thought I was deserving. I want to congratulate all of my fellow recipients as well. Thank you.

Mr. Runhui Deng, Junior, Math and Economics
Hello, everyone. My name is Runhui Deng. It is such an honor to be here making a speech. My family and I came to the United States in 2012. Neither of my parents spoke any English, and my sister and I just spoke a little bit. It was hard to get used to our new lives – we all felt depressed at the time with the difficulties we were facing, both socially and financially. My sister and I are the first generation in our family to go to college; neither of my parents finished high school. Needless to say, they are proud of their children. I have to find a job during the school year to pay for costs other than tuition. It is not easy to be a full time student, work part time, and maintain good grades at the same time. The existence of Asian American Center Scholarship helps my family financially and myself socially. It encourages me to believe things will come through, to just keep trying and never give up. I sincerely appreciate the efforts made by Professor Wu, the Asian American Center, and the Ames family for their generous support. I am looking forward to make my contributions to our society.

Mr. Yunke Gao, Senior, Computer Science
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, my name is Yunke Gao. This is my second time standing here, it’s a great pleasure for standing here again. For this time, I will not talk about my background, I will like to share some experiences that I have with Asian American Center for the past one year. The first thing, I want to talk about, is the events that Asian American Center has. I remember there is an event that Asian American Center invited one speaker called Jerry who is a staff attorney at Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. I learned the history and development of Asian American in the United States from his speech, and how we are fighting for our rights in voting and policies. Especially for Queens, we have increase the amount of Asian minority. The second thing is the being a member of the Student Council of Asian/American Center. This is a new experience for me too. We have some meetings for the Student Council. And I also benefit a lot from those meetings. One example is that I knew who Vincent Chin is. For many of you are my age might not know about Vincent Chin. His case is very significant for Asian American history and movement of Asian American. Thank you.

Mr. Hon Fai (Sam) Kan, Senior, Sociology & Urban Studies
Good evening everyone, it is my honor to receive this scholarship and I really would like to thank the Asian American Center once again. As professor Wu said before, the Asian American population has been soaring. However, we are still being neglected in different aspects. From my point of view, I believe there are two best ways to empower ourselves. One is exercising our voting right, the other would be acquiring higher education. Getting a college degree would not only help one to advance the social ladder, but can also empower himself. Thank you everyone!

Ms. Rita Malo, Junior, Political Science & Comparative Literature
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Asian/American Center (A/AC) for selecting me as one of the A/AC Scholarship recipient this year. Opportunities such as the A/AC Scholarship Program are essential in ensuring that the hard work, dedication, and struggles of Asian American students are recognized, voiced, and appreciated. The events and activities held by the Asian American Center, such as the discussions on race and immigration, are of utmost importance given the current political climate. These events are not only thought provoking and informative, but they create a sense of solidarity amongst Asian American students as well as the wider college community.

Due to the generosity of the Asian American Center, I have been able to fully focus on my academic goals for the past year and will continue to do so this year as well. Although City University of New York offers a great education at a fraction of a price in comparison to private schools, paying for tuition, fees, and books can be extremely challenging and stressful for students and their families. Because a lot of students, attending Queens College come from marginalized backgrounds, waiting to see if you’ll receive financial aid after filing FAFSA each semester can be disappointing if you don’t qualify. Students may even have to drop a class or worse, withdraw from a semester because the financial burden is too overwhelming. For example, before receiving the scholarship, I recall the times when I was forced to sacrifice taking courses that I really liked because the financial burden was too much.

However, the Asian American scholarship ensures that my financial needs are completely taken care of and has allowed me to focus on what’s truly important: pursuing my goals and finishing my education on time. Over the past year, I have been able to take extra language courses in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies. Although these courses are essential to my educational interests and professional goals, I wouldn’t have been able to take it had it not been for the scholarship. Due to the scholarship allowing me to intellectually explore a variety of different possibilities, I have been able to develop my research interests pertaining to the Middle East and currently work with several faculty members on a capstone project. I intend to continue working on my research and will be applying for PhD programs in Middle Eastern history and politics. More importantly, the scholarship has ensured that I remain on track to graduating on time next spring.

As I complete my last year in Queens College, I am honored and thankful for receiving this generous scholarship for the past two years. Thank you for enabling this opportunity!