In just a few short weeks, the 2017-2018 school year will come to an end, which means ACP will be saying farewell to the 2018 Senior Class. Throughout the year, several members of the class of 2018 have received some remarkable scholarships such as the Flinn Scholarship and the Coca-Cola Scholarship. The newest addition to the list of spectacular senior scholarship winners is Farah Eltohamy. Many Knights may know Farah from her fabulous artwork or her unforgettable sweet and comedic personality. Recently, Farah has won a position at Arizona State University’s Leadership Scholarship Program, one of the most prestigious scholarship opportunities ASU offers:

Q: What are your plans at ASU?

A: I am going into the Barrett Honors program, and I am majoring in journalism and mass communications, and I think LSP will go hand-in-hand with my major. After attending ASU, I want to become a news reporter so that I can use it as a platform to properly represent typically misrepresented groups.

Q: What are the details of this scholarship program?

A: So basically, the program, LSP, stands for Leadership Scholarship Program. The program is designed specifically for students who are change makers and who aspire to be the leaders in their communities. The application and interview process is very intense. Once you get selected to be one of the 25 people, you are able to form a cohort. Currently, I am apart of the 2018 cohort, and all the cohorts over the past four years, which total 100 students, meet up throughout the year for numerous community service events. It is a very tight-knit community who want to make a change in the world.

Q: How did you discover this scholarship? What was your initial emotion once you found out about your scholarship?

A: I already have a friend in LSP, who graduated from ACP last year, who said that I would be perfect for this program, so I decided to apply. My initial reaction is quite a funny story. So we had to do an in-person interview at ASU, and they said that they will tell you if you got in by mid-March. By the time mid-March rolled around, I was thinking, “oh shoot, I did not get in,” because I had not received an email, phone call, or anything. Then, the advisor who is in charge of the program called my home phone. I initially thought the call was some sort of solicitation phone call, but then I heard it go to voicemail and the advisor said, “Farah, I need to talk to you about something.” As soon as I heard the voice message, I rushed back to the phone and tried to call her. She told me I got in, and I suddenly couldn’t breathe. I was very overwhelmed with happiness.

Q: How do you feel it will impact your experience at ASU? What do you specifically hope to gain?

A: The main reason I want to go into journalism is because the media, unfortunately, portrays marginalized groups in a very misrepresented manner, there is no representation. The thing that I love about journalism is that there is activism in journalism, and LSP also has that element of activism. In LSP, you are striving to be a leader and make a change in the causes you believe in.

Q: How has leadership impacted your life? Have you been inspired by any leaders in your own community?

A: The thing about leadership is that you can be a leader anywhere. I have the mindset to be a leader wherever I am. No one comes over and tells you that you are a designated leader. You have to find that sense to be a leader and stand up for what you believe in within your community. Take those leadership positions, go start that club, go do that fundraiser, just be a leader wherever you can.  The people that have inspired me to be a leader are the individuals at our own school. A lot of our classmates are natural born leaders who have the desire to take action. Especially in my senior class, everyone is supportive of one another, and we push each other to do our absolute best.

Q: How do you think you will contribute to this program?

A: Well, I know that every cohort engages in a major community service program every year. I’ve asked a lot of members what they have done, and a lot of them have helped in homeless shelters and have helped people who have suffered from domestic abuse. I would like to be in charge of one of those community service projects and help the less fortunate, especially those here in Arizona.

Q: Now, some fun questions. What is an interesting fact about yourself?

A: I am related to a Nobel Peace Prize winner. He was my grandmother’s cousin, so the relation is kind of distant. I know he represented a peace organization that was against nuclear weaponry, and he was able to talk to some countries about nuclear issues.

Q: What was a hilarious school-related incident that you have encountered?

A: One hilarious incident took place in my Algebra II class during freshman year of high school. An unnamed student was holding two really large rulers. He accidentally flicked them, and the rulers ended up piercing the ceiling. It was a wild and iconic moment.

Congratulations to Farah on her achievement! The Knights wish the best of luck to Farah and her future career in journalism. There is no doubt that she will make a marvelous leader that will inspire change within the world.