Chasing That Degree
With Freedom from Stress, the Build Hope Scholarship gives an emerging engineer a chance to invest in himself.
Mahtab Ahmem, a sophomore at CalPoly Pomona “chasing a degree in civil engineering”, resides at Mar Vista Gardens. “I heard about the BHI Scholarship through some mail that I got from the Residence’s main office. So I was like, you know, I have nothing to lose, I might as well apply, since I really need the money for college.”
When his application was accepted, Mahtab couldn’t have been more thankful. “It really gave me freedom from stress: I could stop worrying about money, attending college, agonizing about how really expensive it is… I’m just thankful every day.” Mahtab also found the application support system very positive: “BHI was really friendly and answered all my questions. And, you know, they still reach out to me, encouraging me to re-apply for the next year.”
Freedom from stress has also given Mahtab the space to fully commit to his current endeavor, an internship with a local small-business certified engineering firm, and he’s ecstatic: ”the people that hired me act like this internship is not only an investment in me, but also in themselves. So it feels like a family, because there is mutual benefit.”
Mahtab feels like his professional family is preparing him for the future, a win-win situation that is a real boost to his confidence and outlook.