Key West High School Graduate Anika Yasmin Takes Top Honors

The Zonta Club of Key West announces an annual scholarship award first. Anika Yasmin, 2014 Key West High School graduate captured the Young Women in Public Affairs award at the local level. Her accomplishments then captured both District and now International Level scholarship awards, chosen out of recipients from 17 different countries.

Born in Bangladesh, Yasmin came to Key West at age two. Beginning her education in specialized classes for non-English speakers, she worked her way into the gifted program in third grade and excelled at school becoming high school Valedictorian. She also became active in the community while juggling the responsibilities and expectations of being a domesticated Muslim woman, holding a job, and being a full-time caretaker for her mother after she had a debilitating stroke. Yasmin was the first Bengali girl in town to travel abroad by herself, and taking notice of her accomplishments the Bengali community also began encouraging their daughters to follow in her footsteps.

“Beyond all that, we were especially impressed that The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) accepted Anika during their Early Admission round,” said Zonta Scholarship Committee Chair, Cyndi Chatman. “We all cheered when Anika advanced to win at the District level, and were thrilled to learn of her International scholarship award.”

Yasmin plans to study Biomedical Engineering at MIT, to develop technology that reconnects stroke patients’ brains to their non-functioning limbs. Her accomplishments have earned her a total of $ 7,500 to help defray the cost of her continuing education.

The goal of the Zonta International Young Women in Public Affairs (YWPA) Program is to encourage more young women to participate in public and political life by recognizing a commitment to the volunteer sector, evidence of volunteer leadership achievements and a dedication to the advancement of the status of women.