MENTOR, OHIO, October 30, 2020 – Rustic Pathways has announced winners of the 2021 Global Perspectives Scholarship. In total, Rustic Pathways has committed over $700,000 in scholarships and financial aid to students around the world.
Open to high school seniors and college students attending a college or university in 2021, the Global Perspectives Scholarship required students to write an essay in the first round. Finalists who moved on to the second round submitted a short video clip on the same prompt.
The prompt for both the essay and video had students answer: What kind of global impact project is most critical for you to focus on and why, and what is your plan to make that impact in the next year and beyond?
Awards to students were selected based upon quality of submissions in regards to the prompt.
Grand Prize Winner ($1,000)
Sarah Ahmed
Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School | Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Sarah Ahmed is an accomplished illustrator, innovator, and community mobilizer. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, Sarah is the co-founder of Muslim Artists for Justice, a non-profit organization that inspires young Muslim artists to share their opinions and bring awareness to social issues that affect the Muslim community. She is also a member of Bow Seat’s Future Blue Youth Council, where she works towards environmental justice by encouraging youth to use art as activism.
In June 2021, Sarah graduated from Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School as a Schulich Nominee and will be studying Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo this upcoming fall. She is excited to enrich her passion for design and innovation, and explore further opportunities to grow, challenge herself, and create a difference.
Excerpt from Sarah’s essay submission:
“Growing up suffering from discrimination because of my identity as a Muslim woman made me understand the importance of safe spaces devoid of discrimination, prejudice, and racism. Given the alarming amount of Muslim youth across the globe facing similar struggles, I dedicated myself to creating an environment where Muslim youth could feel safe, valued, and heard.
In December 2020, I created Muslim Artists for Justice (MAJ), a youth-led initiative where Muslim artists can share their opinions and bring awareness to social issues that affect our community. By highlighting a different social issue every month, we give Muslim youth the opportunity to submit artwork along with reflections to elevate their voices.
Attempting to eradicate problems in my community has enhanced my ability to tackle issues I am passionate about, allowing me to develop into a community leader and building my courage to work fearlessly towards the betterment of our society. I have become increasingly devoted towards generating action against social issues that impact the Muslim community and other minority groups.”
2nd Place Winners ($250 each)
Leo Corral
White Bear Lake South Campus | Cottage Grove, MN, United States
In place of wasting water in a grass lawn at his home, Leo has created a vegetable garden. He plans to participate in local government and find more innovative ways to use water. Leo will major in Environmental Science with a Latin American Emphasis, and use his skills to teach others how to manage and preserve natural resources.
Anish Patel
Woodbridge High School | Irvine, CA, United States
Anish is focused on environmental activism. He has proposed reducing plastic waste in lunchrooms to the California State Board of Education and has discovered a novel method for the efficient removal of heavy metals from polluted water. Anish is currently writing a book on global climate change and will enter college as an Environmental Science major. He plans to pursue founding a community-based recycling organization as his next project!
About Rustic Pathways
Rustic Pathways has been the leader in global teen adventure travel and community service programs since 1983. Through purposeful design, we create culturally-immersive programs for students ages 12 to 22, customizable teacher-led trips for school groups, and gap year semesters for recent high school graduates.
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