Arlington Rotary Club Awards $18K In Scholarships, Honors Educator Of The Year

ARLINGTON, VA — The Arlington Rotary Club awarded college scholarships totaling $18,000 to two Arlington students at its annual education fund banquet.

At the April 20 banquet, Mikey Samayoa also was honored as the club's Key School "Educator of the Year" for 2022-2023. Samayoa, a fourth-grade teacher in Key School-Escuela Key’s bilingual elementary-school program, worked with families to help them register for the Arlington recreation soccer program.

The Arlington Rotary Club, founded in 1928, is a partner with Key School for community service and honors a member of its faculty or staff each year.

“Mikey successfully guided multiple families through the sign-up process for rec soccer this past fall,” Arlington Rotary Club President David Baas said in a statement.

Azra Pehlivan, who is receiving a $10,000 scholarship from the Arlington Rotary Club, attended Washington-Liberty High School and plans to attend Virginia Tech and eventually pursue a law degree.

The other scholarship winner, Danayit Anito of Arlington Community High School, will receive the club’s $8,000 Audra Rafter Scholarship. She plans to attend Northern Virginia Community College for the first two years and then transfer to a four-year university.

Tony Weaver, the Arlington Rotary Club’s immediate past president and chair of the club’s scholarship program, said the pool of applicants included many hard-working and qualified students.

“We made sure that need and impact were a major component in the selection process,” Weaver said in a statement. “I passionately believe that higher education should be the standard for all students, not just those with financial means.”

The Rotary Club's financial support for Key School also includes the purchase of books for teachers to use in their classrooms and for students who cannot afford to take ones home as their own.

“Our partnership with Escuela Key is a perfect fit with Rotary International’s commitment to education and other civic causes, both locally in Arlington and globally,” Baas said.