Scholarship winner Weam Alabed shocked by award but proud of her civic, academic accomplishments

GTCC High Point Campus dean Dean Campbell, Ph.D., and Weam Alabed at the Housing Authority of the City of High Point scholarship ceremony.

Weam Alabed was shocked when she discovered she had been awarded the Seeds-to-Success Scholarship presented by the High Point Housing Authority (HPHA) earlier this year. She shouldn’t have been, but that’s her nature.

“The housing authority gave me the scholarship application and said, ‘You could win.’ Then, when they called me, I asked if I was in trouble,” Alabed recalls when she heard the news she had won the scholarship. “They were insisting my parents be in the room. That was when I realized I had actually won (the scholarship). And I wasn’t in trouble!”

The Seeds-to-Success Scholarship was created in 2014 to encourage and award exceptional accomplishments of students who are current HPHA program participants. It is intended to recognize an emerging leader whose record reflects ongoing and exceptional growth in academics, leadership, and community responsibility.

Alabed graduated from Guilford Technical Community College last spring with an associate degree in science and now is in her first semester at UNC-Greensboro. The scholarship funds are being used in part to cover the cost of textbooks.

“It’s not just about the money,” Alabed said of the scholarship. “It makes me realize what I have done for myself. It gave me a lot of confidence in myself.”

Alabed, who emigrated to the United States with her parents from Jordan when she was 12, should not have been surprised when the HPHA scholarship committee selected her as the award winner. Scholastic achievement and civic involvement have been hallmarks of her life.

While at GTCC, she participated in Health Occupations Students of America, the Cultural Club, the Art Club, the Crochet Club, and High Point University’s Camp Fun. She has been deeply involved in the community, volunteering at the Islamic Center of the Triad, the Zakat committee, the Islamic Center of Triad Food Bank, Southwest Elementary School, and HPHA community events.

Alabed graduated from Southwest Guilford High School in 2022 and quickly realized that GTCC was the right choice for her to begin her college career.

“I thought it was the best for me,” she said of her decision to enroll at GTCC. “I’m not going to lie; it was a lot different than high school. Your parents don’t get an email if you’re failing a class. It’s 100% your responsibility. I was very proud of what I was doing.”

Now that Alabed is well into her first semester at UNCG, her decision to attend GTCC has been reinforced.

“When I got to UNCG, I was prepared. I was confident,” said Alabed, who is majoring in biology and plans to attend physician’s assistant school after graduation. “I had a plan of what I wanted to do, and that plan is going well.

“GTCC was very helpful. I do advise others to go there after high school. They prepare you very well. I love it there!”