Connect Me has a large number of proud milestones and accomplishments. We’ve created worldwide impact through our tutoring and mentoring, and made several news appearances since the beginning stages of the nonprofit.
Recently, another achievement has been added to the list: receiving a $10,000 grant from the National Society of High School Scholars, otherwise known as NSHSS.
The NSHSS is a distinguished academic honor society for high-achieving high school scholars. Every year, NSHSS gives their members the opportunity to receive $10,000 through their Be More Grant competition. Fifteen Be More Grants are awarded at the annual competition in a Shark Tank style competition, where members present their project to judges and audience members.
On behalf of Connect Me, a high school senior from Michigan, Rony Korab, competed in the Be More Grant competition and was crowned one of the grant winners.
Members of the Grant Subcommittee helped Rony prepare his speech through over half a dozen hour-long Zoom meetings. They contributed to perfecting his script and providing feedback to the PowerPoint presentation to ensure each main point was hit well. The subcommittee also held several practice sessions and even created mock judge questions for the Q&A segment at the end of his presentation to further develop his confidence with articulating his key points.
Rony included many significant parts about Connect Me into his presentation, including the impactful numbers and statistics and the news appearances. He also stressed on the future scope of the organization and what the money would be used for.
Celine Samaan, the co-chair of the Grant Subcommittee, expressed her excitement with Rony being announced as a winner for the competition.
“I was really excited because I knew Connect Me was going to be strongly impacted, and it’s a great step forward for the entire organization!” she emphasized.
The competition was held at The Georgia Institute of Technology, more commonly known as Georgia Tech, where Aarav Shah, one of Connect Me’s team members, currently goes for college.
As the other co-chair of the Grant Subcommittee, Aarav was present at the competition along with the rest of the Board of Directors to cheer on Rony. He helped with handling the competition day logistics to ensure a smooth experience for all.
One of Aarav’s favorite parts about the competition was reuniting with the Board of Directors. Each Board of Director resides at colleges scattered across the nation, so seeing them was a cherished and nostalgic moment. He also shared a behind-the-scenes moment as an audience member.
“I was really nervous while the winners were getting called up one by one. Connect Me was the 8th one called, so my hands were shaking really badly when recording the video, but I was really excited and relieved when Rony’s name got called up!”
Not only was being chosen as one of the grant winners an incredible achievement for everyone, but the chance to create lasting memories together at the competition made the experience even more special.
Winning the $10,000 Be More Grant is a proud milestone for Connect Me, highlighting the team’s hard work and dedication. This achievement will help fund many of Connect Me’s future aspirations and will help expand the impact of empowering students worldwide.
Author: Diksha Lal
