Summerlin, meet the future! Hats off to four outstanding high school graduates, each residents of Summerlin who are recipients of Summerlin Children’s Forum (SCF) scholarships for 2020. The Forum, a nonprofit organization established in 1997 by leaders of Summerlin® and its developer, The Howard Hughes Corporation®, has funded annual scholarships, enrichment grants and special educational programs totaling more than $600,000. The annual scholarship program is open to all graduating high school seniors who live in Summerlin.
Collectively, these students are an impressive bunch with can-do attitudes and big plans as difference-makers in their respective fields. Check them out!
This year’s scholars include Eshaan Vakil, a graduate of Ed W. Clark High School, who has been accepted at Harvard University where he plans to study international relations and technology with the goal of addressing disparities in education and technology in underserved regions. In 2016, Vakil founded the Alliance for Academic Quiz Bowl, a nonprofit that today has 200-plus volunteers working in underserved areas of Las Vegas organizing academic camps for kids, while promoting participation in national academic quiz bowls.
Sonia Agrebi, an International Baccalaureate graduate of Palo Verde High School who is headed to UNR, has been politically active throughout her high school career. She plans to study political science and hopes to eventually intern at the Nevada State Legislature with plans to pursue a career in law.
Mackenzie Gabany, also a Palo Verde High School graduate, is headed to Northern Arizona University’s Honors College where she will study exercise science with a career goal of earning a Masters’ degree in athletic training and a Doctorate in physical therapy.
And finally, Nicola Lai, a graduate of West Career and Technical Academy, will attend the Honors College at UNLV where she plans to study accounting with the goal of becoming a Certified Public Accountant. She is active in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, an initiative of the IRS that provides free tax preparation consultancy to underserved citizens.
Congratulations, students!