2023-2024 Scholars

(will complete their projects in summer 2024)

Grace Werner
Carleton College

For my project, I would address period poverty in the Twin Cities by making reusable menstrual pads for those who struggle to find and afford menstrual supplies. I then hope to distribute the pads to menstruators in detention centers.

Jaleta Fanta Tesgera
Concordia College, Moorhead

In order to equalize the gaps and effects of the 18 years of experience and information international students missed out on, I want to build a website archive that is backed up by the community platform Slack. The website is designed like an archive to provide a bulk of resources, guides, and links to basic information.

Naomi Gebru
Concordia College, Moorhead

I intend to set up a flexible mentoring program for the international students at Concordia College by International alum. I hope to build a system of networks that requires a minimum amount of time from our alums and students yet has a long-lasting impact.

Fadimah Mohamed
Hamline University

My idea is to help underprivileged students in Minnesota to gain access to STEM education. I hope to work with organizations to address the underlying factors of the educational disparities in STEM fields and to provide the students support and resources to build their skills, develop their knowledge and confidence to pursue career opportunities in STEM.

Mariame Kane
St. Catherine University

I will create a summer-long financial literacy program for first-generation college students at my mosque. This project is important to me because I believe that by teaching the younger generation these skills from early on, they will be able to thrive financially.

Nimo Mohamed
St. Catherine University

Many individuals struggle with malnutrition, disease, and related health issues, which are often caused by a lack of access to healthy food options, limited information about nutrition and exercise, and a stigma about seeking help for psychological wellness. My idea is to create a comprehensive health and nutrition program to address these issues among elders in the East African Community, specifically Ward 6 of Minneapolis, where there is the greatest concentration of East African People.

Theresa DeGross
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

The project I propose for Winona is crafted with the intent to address both the brokenness of plastic recycling and the 30 percent of food that is lost to spoilage in America. My hope is to adapt the waste reduction systems in place and take inspiration from what has worked for comparably similar counties, so as to assuage doubt and cultivate commitment toward an actualized composting campaign.

Adbirahman Abikar
University of St. Thomas

I plan to create a software application that can help bring important resources that students might have been missing out on that were simply hidden from them, ranging from school resources to daily resources, such as financial literacy.

Cheyene Bialke
University of St. Thomas

Inside the walls of Brooklyn Center High School sits an empty green room that is waiting to be used. I would like to take that empty green room and create a Brooklyn Center newsroom. This would be a space where students can broadcast different events around the community and highlight student success.

Natalie Larson
University of St. Thomas

The big picture of my idea is connecting restaurants and food preparation organizations to local farms by collecting their food scraps and delivering them to be used as animal feed or compost product. It is my goal to create an affordable way to minimize food waste while simultaneously supporting agricultural practices.