Aluel M

Aluel M, from Lincoln, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $24,000 HBCU scholarship from Trajectory Foundation. She will be the first in her family to graduate college after her mother immigrated to the US to escape a violent civil war in South Sudan.  Aluel just might have the most diverse interests of any student that we’ve awarded a scholarship to in the past eight years.  Aviation?  Check.  Filmmaking? Yes.  Science? Also, yes.

Aluel’s high school didn’t provide resources for kids interested in fields like astronomy and physics.  Accepting this as fact is not in Aluel’s DNA.  So, she borrowed a telescope from her high school and taught children in her Section 8 housing project how to find star clusters.  She’s simplified complex science topics in videos and a Google classroom so that those same children could have access to STEM related topics.  While doing all of this she was an outstanding student, ran track, and worked 28 hours a week to contribute financially to her family. She impressed us with her journey, but it was her quiet, authentic demeanor while holding a fierce determination to make a difference in the world that blew us away.  We are so proud to support her as she enters Howard University this fall to pursue a STEM degree.  Join us in congratulating Aluel!