Michael Graham and Roméo Dallaire at Lewis & Clark in 2013.
Dallaire Scholarship: We are not accepting applications for the 2024-2025 academic year at this time. We will post updates for applications for 2025-2026 academic year in June. Please check back.
The Michael Graham Scholarship is on hold indefinitely as the Dallaire/Michael Graham Committee determines its viability for serving a local immigrant or refugee with academic English language courses at Lewis & Clark College.
Graham Scholar for 2023-24
Ana is a recent Roosevelt High School graduate. She came to the U.S. from Guatemala in 2019 with her family. She plans to develop her English skills to a level which will allow her to pursue a business degree at an institution of higher education. She envisions this as a way to help others in her Latino community by being prepared to support small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Dallaire Scholar 2024
Josué Niyomutabazi has a deep history of humanitarian work. In addition to being involved in the university genocide survivors organizations AERG and GAERG, he served as chapter governor of Seven United for the Needy, aiding street children and youth from low-income families. As an undergrad, he was one of few non-journalism majors selected as a journalist trainee at the university radio station (Radio Salus), where he led conversations on topics such as justice and gender. More recently, he was a project manager in Rwanda for the international volunteer-led organization, Renewed Memory. Josué’s interest in leadership led to his being voted in as youth representative to the National Youth Council and also as a member of Nyanza District Council, work he will continue while at L&C. His love of learning may take him to graduate school to study environmental law, where he hopes to combine economics and law to study and combat climate change. Josué completed his master’s in applied quantitative economics at the University of Rwanda this past November before arriving for the spring semester.
About the Romeo Dallaire and Michael Graham Scholarships
Roméo Dallaire Scholarhip
Lewis & Clark’s Roméo Dallaire Scholarship honors the work and vision of Roméo Dallaire, former commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission to Rwanda, Canadian Army Lieutenant-General (ret.), Senator, world citizen, and humanitarian.
The Roméo Dallaire Scholarship allows recipients to enroll in the Academic English Studies program at Lewis & Clark College for one academic year. While studying English and living with other students from throughout the United States and around the world, scholarship recipients experience first hand the history and habits of diverse cultures even as they share with others their own traditions, customs, insights and beliefs. The Dallaire Award Fund continues to advance the principle that has guided Lewis & Clark’s innovative programs in international education for more than 40 years: global understanding is rooted in relationships, and relationships are built day by day and person to person.
(Applications accepted each year September to November.)
Michael Graham Scholarship
Inspired by the compassion for community and forward-thinking attitudes of our past Roméo Dallaire Scholars, we announce a new scholarship for local Portland metropolitan area high school graduates who are refugees or immigrants and are non-native English speakers. The scholarship will pay for one academic year’s tuition, books and a bus pass for non-residential students to study in the Academic English Studies program at Lewis & Clark.
Julissa Duran is our Michael Graham scholar for the 2022-2023 academic year. She is a dedicated student and has successfully navigated several challenges in pursuit of her education. She moved to the United States from El Salvador in 2019 and attended Roosevelt High School where she thrived academically in an entirely new culture, language, and way of learning online. Julissa stood out from her peers due to her strong communication, student skills, high grades, and success in Advanced Placement and college-level courses.
Julissa joined Academic English Studies to bridge and prepare herself for college and professional success in the United States. After her studies at Lewis & Clark, she plans to study medicine. Helping and showing respect to people is what motivates Julissa; she is also inspired to help support her family and from witnessing relatives suffer from various health issues. Her goal is to support and work with people from a variety of communities who are navigating the difficult journey of healing.
Nabi Gharib Dost, 22-23 Michael Graham Scholar for Afghan Refugee
Thanks to the generous support of the Office of the President of Lewis & Clark, an additional Michael Graham Scholarship was awarded for 2022-2023. Nabi (Na-Bee’) Gharib Dost is the recipient of the Michael Graham Scholarship for an Afghan Refugee. Nabi immigrated from Afghanistan to Beaverton, Oregon with his family in 2018.
Nabi is a recent graduate of Beaverton High School. When he first arrived in the United States, he did not know any English. Nabi’s high school teacher and counselor both remark on his tenacity to accept challenges and apply himself to excel in learning English and in succeeding academically. He has made amazing progress since arriving in Oregon, advancing in his English level to successfully graduate from high school this past June. Nabi is interested in pursuing a degree in computer science and is interested in a career in web design. He is using this year in Academic English Studies as a gap year to better prepare himself for future college studies.
Dallaire Scholar 2022-23
Rene Pacifique Amani, who goes by Amani, is our Dallaire scholar for the 2022-2023 academic year. He is the founder of and program coordinator for the nonprofit organization One Help One Direction Ihumure, which is committed to improving the lives of vulnerable children from hard places (homeless youth) in the Nyarugenge district, Rwezamenyo sector of Rwanda.
Amani is passionate about and has a long history of working with vulnerable children. He has always known this to be his calling and has worked with underprivileged children and youth through various organizations throughout his adult life. To anchor his passion, he sought out training and participated in the Rwanda peace education program organized by AEGIS Trust Rwanda whose mission is to bring positive change to the local community. From this support came One Help One Direction Ihumure.
One Help One Direction Ihumure’s vision is to create a peaceful world free of vulnerable children. One of Amani’s most successful programs, “Smile Sunday,” provides a safe place for children to heal and work with counselors as well as connect to their community and develop life skills through activity-based learning. The program helps reintegrate children into the community, pays school tuition, and increases participants’ sense of agency. Amani is committed to understanding the root causes of problems in his community and is constantly evolving the organization to better address them.
Amani is studying with Academic English Studies so that he has the English skills to expand his work to a national, and perhaps one day an international, level.
Learning from Rwanda to equip and inspire each one of us to enter the world of the “Other.” The “Other” may be under our own roof or on the other side of the globe.
—Carl and Teresa Wilkins
Academic English Studies (AES) is located in Albany Quadrangle on the Undergraduate Campus. MSC: 125
