Previous HFCC Honors Program students Leah Mantei and Joseph Headen were granted significant scholarships to continue their education at Connecticut College. Last year, the college sent representatives to scout out the Honors Program for candidates to join their campus. They were impressed by the academic excellence of Leah and Joseph and granted them scholarships exceeding $50,000 each.
Connecticut College made contact with the HFCC Honors Program as it is seeking excellent community college students to transfer. Due to the current development of its Arabic program, the college is most interested in students who are focusing on Liberal Arts and Arabic. The characteristics that Connecticut College seeks in its students are diverse perspectives, academic excellence, integrity, idealism, and intellectual curiosity – all of which made Leah and Joseph the perfect choices.
Leah Mantei was an honors student at HFCC for the past two years. She comes from a German background and is fluent in the language. While studying Arabic seriously, she maintained a 4.0 grade point average with the hopes of entering a graduate school for a degree in international law. Due to her academic motivation, she was granted a scholarship of $52,000 from Connecticut College. Joseph Headen was part of the Honors Program at Henry Ford for two years and was able to maintain a 4.0 grade point average as well. He majored in Philosophy at HFCC but ultimately hopes to gain entry into medical school. Headen greatly impressed the admissions board of Connecticut College and was granted $60,000.
“I was extremely happy when I heard about their scholarships...I felt like a proud parent, as I do with all of my students,” said Dr. Nabeel Abraham, the director of the Honors Program.
Connecticut College is a highly selective private Liberal Arts college situated in New London, Connecticut. The school has about 1,880 students enrolled with an average class size of 19 students. Connecticut College is currently ranked 37 in the top liberal arts colleges in the nation. The school is renowned for its international study programs in which over half of the students study abroad. Connecticut’s alumni are known to enter prestigious schools of business, law, medicine, and environmental studies after graduating. The advantages of an education from Connecticut College come at a cost of around $56,000 that includes tuition, lab fees, studio fees, and room and board. However, depending on a student’s demonstrated need, the college will grant financial awards ranging from a few hundred dollars to the full cost of one’s education.
HFCC was the only community college scouted by Connecticut College in the Midwest and will continue its relationship with the institution. The Honors Program at Henry Ford highly encourages its students to strive for opportunities such as these and plans to put forth two or more candidates every year to attend Connecticut College.