Aimee Furaha Salmon received the Traprock Scholarship in 2018.

Aimee arrived at GCC in 2017 as a working mom and an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She involved herself deeply in the life of the campus, from teaching Zumba classes on campus, to passionately advocating for support for immigrant students, to serving as the student representative to the GCC Foundation Board. A recipient of multiple scholarship awards, Aimee will earn her Associate in Health Science degree in the spring of 2019, and she has been accepted to Mount Holyoke as a Frances Perkins Scholar.

I’m so happy to be attending Mount Holyoke, but it will be hard to leave GCC. I’ve received so much support here, especially as and immigrant and a mother. It is such a student-focused environment. I don’t know how many other schools are really like this. I’m grateful for all the support I have received.

Looking ahead, Aimee hopes to combine her interests in psychology, fitness and business to support her plan to open a fitness studio that is accessible to people living with disabilities. In the long-term, she intends to return to the Democratic Republic of Congo to open a nonprofit organization that will provide mental health services for people of color.