Congratulations to CFA Pre-apprenticeship student Sahra Mohamad!
CFA student Sahra applied for the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship early this year; a rigorous and competitive process that involved submitting an online application, writing supplemental essays, providing transcripts and test scores, and obtaining letters of recommendation. A few weeks ago, she received an email from SPS and Amazon nominating her as the Seattle School District’s school ambassador at an Amazon event! They invited her to be part of a panel discussion about preparing younger students for careers in computer science and STEM. Sahra was surprised and honored that she had been selected for this once in a lifetime opportunity to spread awareness of computer science careers, She is looking forward to finding ways to create more opportunities to study computer science in the Seattle School District.
On April 18th Sahra went to the Amazon skill center and joined seven other students nominated from other school districts. She joined the other panelists, excited to share her experience in computer science. Once seated, each participant was handed an Amazon box. When the first person opened their box, cans of confetti were popped open and showered down on the panelists. Imagine her excitement when she discovered a check for $40,000 inside her box and realized that she won the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship! She was overwhelmed with emotion and grateful for the recognition of her hard work and dedication. Winning the scholarship is an amazing achievement, and she is grateful to have it to further her education in computer science and make a difference in her community. To quote Sahra, “Many thanks to Amazon, Computing for All, and everyone who has helped education and support me along the way. “
Sahra’s goal is to one day work as part of a company that provides computer science training and job opportunities to underrepresented BIPOC teens and young adults and maybe even start-up her own company to achieve this goal. Because Sahra started dual enrollment at South Seattle Community College as a junior so she could complete her associate ‘s degree while finishing her last two years at Chief Sealth International High School, she is on the CS track to finish her AA degree this spring. She plans to transfer to a four-year college in fall of ’23 where she will pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer science.