Hoover High’s Chowdhury amasses scholarship fortune
Months after winning a $20,000 Coca-Cola scholarship, the awards and accolades continue to pour in for recent Hoover High graduate Amira Chowdhury before she flies east to begin the next chapter of her life at the University of Pennsylvania.
In her pursuit to earn a full scholarship to the Ivy League school, the Associated Student Body president racked up 18 city, local, regional and national scholarships and grants that totaled more than $106,000.
“I applied like crazy to scholarships,” Chowdhury said. “It just wasn’t about the money but about getting access to more groups of people and a family of support.”
Among the highlights, in addition to the scholarship from Coke, was a $10,000 grant from the U.S. Senate Youth program and $4,400 from the Glendale Elks.
But Chowdhury’s largest prize came in April, when she was awarded a $40,000 scholarship from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
Even two weeks after graduation, the accolades still keep coming in, including a Milken Scholarship and recognition during a school board meeting Tuesday.
When asked if one scholarship stood out, Chowdhury gravitated toward Coke.
“The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation and the award are much more to me than just the $20,000,” Chowdhury said. “It’s access to the scholars family, and that is honestly the most precious and the most that I’m thankful for.
“This is the [30th] year of the Coke scholars program and each group of students is an incredible group of students who are like-minded in service, like I am, and truly dedicated to working with others to see how to make a tangible impact in society. That not only happens through service but through collaboration.”
Chowdhury became aware of the Coke scholarship during her tenure with the Senate program and was inspired to help co-found the nonprofit website peerlift.org, which tries to connect high school students with scholarships to pay for college.
“Ms. Chowdhury not only exemplifies superior leadership, service and academics — she is a change agent, positively affecting others in our community,” said Julie Hamilton, chairwoman of the board of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, in an email. “It’s a pleasure to welcome her to our growing family of over 6,000 alumni.”
Not only was Chowdhury the Hoover ASB president, she just concluded a run as the Glendale Unified student trustee on the board of education, which meant she represented more than 26,000 district students.
“My job included not only reports to GUSD, but also finding a way to be a bridge between students and the board of education,” Chowdhury said. “I wanted [students] to get their voices heard. I founded the political club at Hoover High my freshman year. I did that to bring political and social discourse among students and to foster more dialogue.”
Hoover social science instructor Edgar Melik-Stepanyan said he marveled at Chowdhury’s work ethic and dedication to serve.
“She started a Teacher of the Month Award every month for teachers three years ago,” Melik-Stepanyan said. “Every month, she would have the kids buy a goodie basket for the teacher and recognize the teacher. She is the epitome of a leader servant.”
Chowdhury is set to fly to Pennsylvania on Sunday and enroll in summer school, which will begin June 28.
Before that, she left a word of advice for the students she represented.
“There are a lot of students passionate about subjects that they might not find an immediate program at their school and they’ll feel discouraged and they’ll lose their sense of purpose,” she said.
“The thing is, though, students really need to take the time to go into their community and reach out, whether it’s their church or school or something — there are many different avenues — and not lose hope to explore your interests and passions just because it’s not in front of you. This country gives you great opportunities, and you have to take advantage,” she added.
