Ahmad Elhaija, third year Psychobiology major, won the Strauss Scholarship in 2019.

SRC: What is your Strauss Scholarship Project, and how is it going? How did you use the funds?

AE: My Strauss Scholarship project is the International Collegiate Health Initiative: Maywood and Bell Community Clinic. The project has been going well- we are making a great impact in the Southeast Los Angeles community and working to expand the types of services we can provide. I actually saved the Strauss funds to go towards purchasing a medical clinic van for our organization.

SRC: What are your plans for the organization?

AE: Going forward we will provide more types of medical services, partner with more service organizations, and open chapters at other universities.

SRC: What advice do you have for students who are considering applying for the Strauss Scholarship?

AE: I would say to create your proposal as if it would not matter whether or not you receive the scholarship. The strongest projects from my year all had development in the projects prior to applying for the scholarship. The Strauss board will be able to see who put in the work for their project and how much thought was put into organizing the different aspects of the proposal.