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Akron Establishes Scholarships for Bhutanese Students

The annual Bhutanese festival marks the impact of thousands of refugees on Summit County.
M.L. SCHULTZE
/
WKSU public radio
The annual Bhutanese festival marks the impact of thousands of refugees on Summit County.
The annual Bhutanese festival marks the impact of thousands of refugees on Summit County.
Credit M.L. SCHULTZE / WKSU public radio
/
WKSU public radio
The annual Bhutanese festival marks the impact of thousands of refugees on Summit County.

The University of Akron has created eight new scholarships for members of the Bhutanese-refugee community. WKSU’s M.L. Schultze has more from the announcement at this weekend’s annual Bhutanese festival.

Thousands of Bhutanese have come to Akron by way of refugee camps in Nepal over the last decade, and more have arrived via “secondary migration” from other U.S. cities. University of Akron President Matthew Wilson says the scholarships will help enrich education for non-refugee students as well.

“They will be able to have a greater understanding, be able to build bridges, to be able to learn more and then conversely for the Bhutanese community, they’ll be able to become more integrated into our society, they’ll be able to go out and get the tools they need to succeed as well.

The scholarships -- ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 will be available beginning next fall. They’re in addition to the tuition aid offered to Akron public school students and can be applied to transportation, books and other expenses.

Copyright 2021 WKSU. To see more, visit WKSU.

M.L. Schultze
M.L. Schultze came to WKSU as news director in July 2007 after 25 years at The Repository in Canton, where she was managing editor for nearly a decade. She’s now the digital editor and an award-winning reporter and analyst who has appeared on NPR, Here and Now and the TakeAway, as well as being a regular panelist on Ideas, the WVIZ public television's reporter roundtable.