Salam Mulhem, who will graduate from Moraine Valley in May, is receiving a $1,000 scholarship from the Coca-Cola Foundation to use in the fall at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where she will major in aerospace engineering.
A second-year student at Moraine Valley Community College will be honored at the 2019 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) national convention in April for being named a Coca-Cola Academic Team Bronze Scholar.
Salam Mulhem, who will graduate from Moraine Valley in May, is receiving a $1,000 scholarship from the Coca-Cola Foundation to use in the fall at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where she will major in aerospace engineering. Mulhem is enrolled in Engineering Pathways at Moraine Valley, a program that upon successful completion guarantees transfer admission into the UIUC College of Engineering.
“I was a little shocked knowing more than 2,000 people applied for these scholarships, but also very excited for that same reason,” said Mulhem, who is vice president of Moraine Valley’s PTK honor society, president of the STEM club, Honors Club member and a Student Life employee. Mulhem also was named a NASA Aerospace Scholar and worked at NASA headquarters in Virginia during summer 2017 with other students selected from across the country.
“As Salam’s advisor and supervisor, I am so proud of her accomplishments,” said Demetrius Robinson, Student Life manager and co-advisor of PTK. “I always felt she would do great things and be very successful. She has so much passion.”
The daughter of Amal Ramadoa and Abdalla Mulhem, of Oak Lawn, Mulhem will travel to Florida to attend the PTK Catalyst convention to be recognized for her academic accomplishments and take part in the “March of the Scholars.” The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation sponsors the Coca-Cola Academic Team program by recognizing 50 gold, 50 silver and 50 bronze scholars with nearly $200,000 annually.
She is excited to begin the next leg of her educational journey and happy to have started her education at Moraine Valley.
“I believe Moraine Valley really was the best choice I could have made,” Mulhem said. “Completing my degree and graduating is important to me. I think of it as a milestone in my educational journey. Not only does that degree stand for tons of late nights and cups of coffee, it represents everything I’ve achieved in my extracurricular activities as well.”
