Seattle Central College (SCC) students Emilio Chavez, Jie Shan, and Omar Osman received awards for their exceptional leadership at The Board of Trustees meeting on April 12, 2018. The members of the Board of Trustees and Dr. Sheila Lang, SCC’s president, thanked the students for their commitment and the services they provided to the campus community.
Chavez and Shan were nominated for the All-Washington Scholarship, a program that recognizes students who maintain high standards of excellence and contribute positively to the community. In order to be nominated for the All-Washington Academic scholarship, a student must be a member of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) and demonstrate great leadership.
Shan, an international student at SCC and the Project Coordinator of PTK, said, “I am incredibly proud to be part of PTK. It helped me tighten my academic and social network.”
Chavez and Shan were also recognized by Secretary of State Kim Wyman at an awards ceremony held at the end of March.
Osman received the Transforming Lives Award, which recognizes students who have successfully pursued community and technical college education despite significant obstacles. Raised in a refugee camp with extremely limited resources Osman showed impressive spirit and leadership skills by establishing the Kakuma Youth Leaders organization to encourage young people in the camp to work to better their lives and self-esteem. Osman also served as a youth leader for the United Nations Agency for Refugees before coming to Seattle. During his time at SCC, Osman has served the Associated Student Council and continued to develop his leadership skills.
In addition to being one of 35 students to receive the Transforming Lives Award, Osman was one of only five students selected to give a keynote speech at the Transforming Lives awards dinner in January.
“My advice for students would be to get involved and don’t let anyone underestimate your potential to accomplish your goals and dreams, no matter the barriers you may experience,” offers Omar in the 2018 Transforming Lives Award Booklet, which includes the inspiring stories of Osman and the 34 other Transforming Lives Awardees and can be found here.
