1st Place Winner
My name is Michael Cleveland, a 2017 honor graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, Ga. I am a devoted child of God. I attend Walker Tabernacle Baptist Church where I serve God as a Junior Deacon and by being an active member in the music and educational ministries of my church. During my high school experience, I was heavily involved in the Early College program where I attended Atlanta Metropolitan State College and graduated with college credit, as well as The National Beta Club, The Tri-M Music Honor Society, The Marching 100 Band, and Yearbook. Since childhood, watching my mother work as a paramedic I have had the desire to one-day work in the medical field. I devoted 146 hours to volunteering in the E.R. at Grady Health Systems the summer of 2016 which inspired me to want to become an E.R. Physician. I chose to attend Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans where I will major Biology Pre-Med with a Chemistry minor. After I obtain my bachelor’s I will either attend Morehouse School of Medicine or Meharry Medical College for medical school. . I am extremely grateful for this opportunity which will help contribute to my success. Thank you.
1st Place Winner
My name is Michael Cleveland, a 2017 honor graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, Ga. I am a devoted child of God. I attend Walker Tabernacle Baptist Church where I serve God as a Junior Deacon and by being an active member in the music and educational ministries of my church. During my high school experience, I was heavily involved in the Early College program where I attended Atlanta Metropolitan State College and graduated with college credit, as well as The National Beta Club, The Tri-M Music Honor Society, The Marching 100 Band, and Yearbook. Since childhood, watching my mother work as a paramedic I have had the desire to one-day work in the medical field. I devoted 146 hours to volunteering in the E.R. at Grady Health Systems the summer of 2016 which inspired me to want to become an E.R. Physician. I chose to attend Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans where I will major Biology Pre-Med with a Chemistry minor. After I obtain my bachelor’s I will either attend Morehouse School of Medicine or Meharry Medical College for medical school. . I am extremely grateful for this opportunity which will help contribute to my success. Thank you.
2nd Place Winner
My name is Eboni Diamond Washington, a native of the South Bronx, New York currently living in Chiang Mai, Thailand where I own a vegan soul food pop up shop called Vegan Traphouse. Our sole mission is to promote veganism while raising awareness about Black American culture through food and education. I hold my Bachelors of Arts in Radio-TV-Film from the illustrious Howard University and am now currently enrolled at the University of New England obtaining my Master of Social of Work. While attending Howard, I volunteered with an organization called Lady Me where we mentored and tutored “at-risk” high school females. Since being in Thailand, I was given the opportunity to lead several English camps for Thai students focused on health and environmental conservation. This fall, I will begin my internship with Burmese refugees here in Thailand. My ultimate goal is to become an international social worker and work specifically with oppressed indigenous populations around the world. I believe in the saying "no one is free while others are still oppressed" and cultural competency plays a vital role in positive human interaction. With the help of the Rahman Alim Strum Scholarship, I will be able to continue my venture in helping individuals in various communities achieve better mental, physical, and emotional health. I will be forever grateful for this award.
ABOUT US
The Rahman Alim Strum Scholarship Incorporated in memory of Rahman's humanitarian works around the world, his love for family and friends and overall scholastic achievements. Rahman traveled to third world countries to study abroad and to preserve clean water in distraught areas. Rahman was involved in clubs and organizations at school and development in the community all while maintaining a high grade point average at school.
Congratulations to our 2024 Rahman Alim Strum Scholarship Winners!!!
1st Place Winner - Matthew Bennett
Throughout high school, finance has always been a passion of mine. I have found it interesting to see how each national economy impacts the global economy, and how companies are impacted from events that may not necessarily have occurred in its area. When I heard my high school had a business organization—Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), I immediately joined. I was later appointed as the President of Finance, and organized practice sessions at each meeting to ensure that we were all competition ready. After a couple months of preparation, our school had the highest percent of students advance from regionals to the state level.
My high school journey didn’t stop there however. During my Sophomore year, I had the honor of being accepted into Florida’s All-State Band, getting to represent my school at the highest level for music. Later that year, my music program awarded me with the nationally accredited John Philip Sousa Band Award, Most Outstanding Member award, and many others. I also found a passion for helping the community through community service at the American Legion.
When I walked across the graduation stage in May, I couldn’t help but remember everyone who has showed support to get me to where I am today, and I will be forever grateful for having them in my life. I graduated as a member of my school’s Hall of Fame, and also held a 5.18 weighted GPA.
In college, I will be majoring in Finance, while also taking part in Air Force ROTC to determine if that’s a career I would like to pursue. I am so incredibly thankful for what the Rahman Alim Strum Scholarship has done, and it will undoubtedly help offset expenses related to college.
2nd Place Winner - Samaria Robinson
​Be-You-tifiedByMariLLC,Lithonia,Georgia—Owner
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I launched and managed a personal care services business specializing in hair styling, coloring, and other personal care services. I manage salon operations including scheduling, inventory management, financial record-keeping, ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations, social media marketing, graphic design, and training upcoming beauty professionals.
DeKalbCountyWorksourceVirtualAcademy,Decatur, Georgia —Virtual Intern June 2020- August 2020 I learned the basic skills of Microsoft PowerPoint, learned video call etiquette, completed financial learning assignments online, worked with others virtually, completed tasks, and learned the basics of coding.
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Farmer’s Insurance: Keline Bornelus Agency, Stone Mountain, Georgia —Administrative Assistant
I learned the basic skills of Microsoft PowerPoint, learned video call etiquette, completed financial learning assignments online, worked with others virtually, completed tasks, and learned the basics of coding
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THRIVEChristianAcademy,Redan,Georgia—Camp Counselor
During this two-month internship, I assisted children ages 4 to 15 by helping them with their classwork and teaching them new, great ways to do that skill. I also worked with them on self-control, assisted with arts and crafts, and danced and played with them. I assisted my co-workers with cleaning, prepared food, took the kids outside, and organized the gym, classrooms, and offices.
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Presenters Corinne and Andre Strum
VOLUNTEERING
We encourage future scholarship recipients to volunteer and give back to their community. Volunteering allows individuals to be abreast about what is going on in their community and also being the change they would like to see.
STUDENTS
Students can take advantage of a great cause by furthering their education. Students coming from socioeconomic stricten communities and facing socioeconomic hardships surely can close the gap between other social classes. Furthering one's education ultimately opens up more opportunites for ones self, being in a better position to land a job you want and potentially earning more income.
PARENTS/EDUCATORS
Parents and educaters play a vital role in student's success'. We must nuture, understand, care, spend quality time, teach and challenge their intellect. They depend on us to show them the way. Lets get involved and show them!
SUPPORT
EDUCATION
Socioeconomic status (SES) is often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation. It is commonly conceptualized as the social standing or class of an individual or group. When viewed through a social class lens, privilege, power, and control are emphasized. Furthermore, an examination of SES as a gradient or continuous variable reveals inequities in access to and distribution of resources. SES is relevant to all realms of behavioral and social science, including research, practice, education, and advocacy.
We believe that socioecnomic status and education plays a large role in society. At the Rahman Alim Scholarship, Inc we would like expand the distribution of resources, equalize the access to education and close the gap between those who may face socioeconmic hardships or coming from socioeconmoic deprived communities versus those that may not.