City of Knowledge Alumni Association Awards Scholarship to Two Graduating Seniors

In April 2019, a group of 19 alumni came together to create a scholarship for the City of Knowledge students with the goals of:

• Nurturing intergenerational cohesion amongst alumni

• Providing an easy way for alumni to give back to their alma mater

• Helping upcoming graduates cover college expenses and mitigate student debt

The planning committee for the Fund formed the parameters of the scholarship and created an outreach strategy for generating donations from Alumni. Within four weeks of outreach, the committee was able to use word of mouth and an email appeal to raise its goal amount of $3,000.00 from fifteen donors. The subcommittee designated to review applications decided to award $1,000.00 to the two applicants they concluded were deserving of the funds, Mehak Bhalla and Zainab Rizvi. The recipients were announced at the commencement ceremony on May 19, 2019.

The remaining $1,000.00 will be used as the starting point for a grant-giving fund that current City of Knowledge students can apply for to cover expenses associated with college admissions (tutoring, standardized exam prep courses, AP exam fees, admissions application fees, extra-curricular activities, etc). Building on the momentum of the Fund and the cohesion it has generated amongst CKS graduates, the Alumni Association plans to continue collaborating digitally and in person to launch other initiatives such as a mentorship program and a college day to UCLA to inspire and motivate incoming high-schoolers.