Bahati is currently studying Nursing at DMACC, which is a partnering school that will MATCH recipients’ scholarships, so Bahati will receive a total of $1000 towards her education. In her astounding essay, Bahati opened up about the struggles of growing up in a refugee camp because of the civil war in her home country, Congo. Bahati found it hard to continue her education but persevered. 

After coming to Iowa, she joined a lot of school clubs and also began doing extra community work within the refugee community. Bahati explained her volunteer work as an Ambassador for Genesis Youth Foundation, where she helps refugee families navigate life in the United States. One thing that spoke to us about Bahati’s application was her desire to get an education in order to “not only make an impact on myself, but it will also help me change the community for the better.” 

This captures the essence of this scholarship, and we are more than happy to be granting Bahati this scholarship in order for her to go on and continue helping our community as a nurse who speaks multiple languages and has the best of intentions for our immigrant and refugee communities. 

Bahati, we know your family must be incredibly proud of you, as we are so proud and honored to grant you this scholarship. We can’t wait to watch your journey, and look forward to partnering with you in the future as a workshop leader at our annual YLS, teaching others about health sciences careers!