Former Forest Hills High School Student Receives $20K Scholarship

A recent Forest Hills High School graduate and active participant at the neighborhood’s Queens Community House has received a $20,000 scholarship.

Aishah Mowla, a former Access for Young Women participant through the Queens Community House, has received the scholarship to attend Minnesota’s Saint Catherine’s University, where she will begin studying American Sign Language this spring.

Access for Young Women is a program that provides leadership development and focuses on gender equity, public speaking and advocacy.

“I learned how to be a leader,” Mowla said of her participation in the program, which is aimed at youths between the ages of 12 and 18 years. “I noticed how much I was learning after I completed the required 15 hours and decided to keep participating. The teamwork and judgment-free environment was also great.”

Mowla recently graduated from Forest Hills High School and, for several years, took part in programs at the Queens Community House, located at 108-25 62nd Drive.

“Stories like Aisha’s show the impact our programming has,” said Tabitha Gamonski, AFYW’s program director. “We want young women to achieve their potential and leave the program with a sense of independence and more confident than when they entered.”