Green River in the Press

April 22, 2005

Front Page

GRCC Student Awarded Nation’s Top Transfer Scholarship

Left to Right: Donnie Hallstone, Zahir Osman Kassam, Jennifer Whetham

Green River student Mohammed Zahir Osman Kassam has been selected to receive one of the largest and most competitive scholarships available to undergraduates. Zahir was informed at the Board of Trustees’ meeting last night (April 21) that he has been awarded a scholarship from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation that will fund up to three years of undergraduate schooling at $30,000 per year.

Zahir was clearly surprised and thanked the faculty and others who helped him. The essay portion of his scholarship application was a story on his life. The 34-year-old Kenyan immigrant, who now lives in Federal Way, previously worked in business operating the Yumi Ice Cream Company in Dallas, prior to enrolling at GRCC. To help finance his way through college, the business major drove a taxi cab in Tacoma during the midnight shift.

Zahir plans to enroll at the University of Washington and major in business this coming fall. He has a 3.90 grade point average and has earned two scholarships while at GRCC.

Nearly 800 students from around the country were nominated for the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, which was awarded to 25 undergraduate transfer students. The Foundation created the program to make sure financial obstacles do not prevent high-achieving community college students from advancing their education and pursuing their dreams, according to Matthew J. Quinn, the Foundation’s executive director.