John R. Lewis Alumni Group Awards Scholarships To 2023 Graduates In Honor Of Classmate

SPRINGFIELD, VA — Twenty years after their high school graduation, a group of John R. Lewis High School alumni gave back to the class of 2023 in honor of one of their beloved classmates.

Four graduating seniors from the Springfield high school were each awarded $1,000 scholarships earlier this month from a fund created in honor of Ashraf Hani Sabah, a 2003 graduate of the school. Sabah, a football player who envisioned a life of public service, died unexpectedly in 2006, three years after graduating from what was then called Robert E. Lee High School.

The 2003 graduates held an online fundraising campaign in 2022, with the goal of creating a scholarship fund in honor of Sabah. The GoFundMe campaign raised more than $4,000 to establish the Ashraf Hani Sabah Memorial Scholarship for members of the class of 2023 at John R. Lewis High School, which was renamed after the civil rights icon before the start of the 2020-21 school year.

The alumni group received a total of 13 applications for the memorial scholarship. The Class of 2003 Scholarship Committee selected the four award recipients in early May. On June 6, the four students were presented their scholarships at Lewis High School’s senior awards ceremony.

“Like Ashraf, the four Lewis High School Class of 2023 award recipients embody generosity, authenticity, determination, and passion,” said Sadia Heil, one of Sabah’s classmates and a member of the 2003 alumni group that established the Ashraf Hani Sabah Memorial Scholarship.

“The maturity and tenacity of the four recipients blew us away. Their commitment to serving our community gives me hope for the future,” Heil said.

One of the four winners of the Ashraf Hani Sabah Memorial Scholarship was Mohamed Karim, who plans to study information technology.

Karim said getting to a place where he could make plans did not come easily. “At the beginning of high school, I had no ambition to secure a future for myself,” Karim said. “But during the COVID year, I had a new outlook on life that came suddenly.”

Karim, a Fairfax County Student Peace Award recipient, exemplifies generosity and authenticity through participation in Powerful African American Males About Success (PAAMAS), a peer mentor group that teaches African Americans how to secure their future and fight the achievement gap.

The Class of 2003 Scholarship Committee invited students of all backgrounds, including those with experiences similar to Ashraf Sabah — the son of hard-working Palestinian immigrants — to apply. Applicants included immigrants and first-generation Americans who aspired to go to college, technical, or vocational school.

Another scholarship recipient, Nhu Tam Mach, immigrated to the United States from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam with her family.

“At age nine, my family packed 200 pounds worth of luggage and moved to America, but not a single ounce of it contained the knowledge of English. I recall the confusion and isolation that enveloped me on my first day of school in America,” Mach said.

Mach found solace in art and plans to pursue a double major in computer science and graphic design.

“I learned that art has the potential to bring people together and foster a greater understanding of the world around us. It is a form of expression that transcends language barriers and communicates complex emotions and ideas without using words,” Mach said.

Ummama Javed, another scholarship recipient, witnessed her Nana Abu, or maternal grandfather, struggle with Parkinson’s disease for years. The experience also brought her closer to her mother.

“Seeing my mother’s grit and persistence to survive and make sense of the senseless exposed me to a reality I never knew existed. A reality where she left her father to move to a foreign country for her children’s betterment,” Javed said.

Javed, who plans to attend medical school, said she wants to provide patients and their families with the emotional support and willpower they need to live and fight illnesses like Parkinson’s disease.

“I hope to become a source of warmth for them—as my grandfather did for me,” Javed said.

Sheila Romina Aquino, who also received the scholarship, said her mother moved to the United States from Bolivia to pursue her American dream.

“Life was very difficult for my single mother, working as a housecleaner and raising three daughters alone. This was not the life she wanted for her children,” she said.

Aquino said she will pursue a computer science degree in programming and software development. “I have learned that education produces opportunities and provides hope for a better life. I want to guide younger students to pursue opportunities, and I hope to serve as their role model the same way my mother was for me and inspire them to pursue a lifetime of continuous learning,” she said.

Back at John R. Lewis High School, visitors are greeted with a quote from civil rights activist John Lewis, “You are the light. Never let anyone — any person or any force — dampen, dim or diminish your light.”

The quote is accompanied by two murals at the main entrance. “The murals are a perfect reflection of the diversity, the unique beauty of LHS,” Heil said.

The 2003 alum group that established the Ashraf Hani Sabah Memorial Scholarship aspired to set up a scholarship soon after losing Ashraf. But Heil said it was too emotionally taxing for them at the time.

"Ashraf was a light to everyone who knew him," said Heil. "Honoring his legacy of generosity, authenticity, determination, and passion is something we've wanted to do for years. Our 20-year graduation mark was the perfect opportunity to realize this dream."

"After meeting Mohamed, Nhu, Ummama, and Sheila — I am confident that this story, one of love and compassion, lives on," she said.

Special thanks to Sadia Heil, a member of the Class of 2003 Scholarship Committee, for her assistance with this article.