Alia Rashid has 40,000 reasons to be excited about attending post-secondary school this fall, but she only needs one: she’s made her mom proud.
Rashid, a student at Clayton Heights Secondary, was recently awarded a Beedie Luminaries scholarship worth $40,000. Now she’ll be attending BCIT in the fall to study interior design.
“This scholarship is one of the biggest accomplishments in my life and my mother, who is a single mother, has helped through thick and thin to get me to where I wanted to be,” she said. “I wanted to make her proud.”
Beedie Luminaries scholarships are open to B.C. students who wish to attend B.C. universities and colleges. The applicants must also have overcome some adversity in their lives and been active doing of community service or volunteer work.
SEE ALSO: Salish Secondary student wins Beedie Luminaries scholarship
“I’m so excited about it,” she said. “This is such a blessing for me because my family has struggled a lot and faced financial adversity.”
Rashid added it would have been impossible for her to attend BCIT without this scholarship. “It just wouldn’t have been an option for me.”
Rashid volunteers with the Surrey Crime Prevention Society and at a local daycare. She said her experiences volunteering have been inspiring and have allowed her to grow as a person. She said volunteer work has opened her eyes to the plights of others and offered her many teachable moments.
“To see how many people are in distress, it makes you feel more grateful for your own life. It’s humbling in a way. I’m lucky and I should be thankful.”
Rashid said her mom, Sahar, has done her best to raise three kids on a fixed income.
“I’m so glad my mom won’t have to worry about me when she has two other kids in the house to worry about.”
Rashid said she’s happy she could make her mom proud.
“She always wanted me to be successful. She gets my stuff done before her stuff. She focuses on me before herself. She runs me around to do my volunteer work and misses out on her stuff.”
She added the scholarship was always about more than just herself.
“This scholarship is for my mom too. I wanted to make her proud for all the things she’s done for me over the years. She is why I’m here.”
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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