The Class of 2020 is like no other graduating Class. Many schools across the country have cancelled classes which means many students are missing out on senior year traditions. But even with all the cancellations and uncertainty caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, we celebrate our local seniors and give hope for a brighter future.
Over 35 students applied for the scholarship and because of the state safety orders in place, an amended presentation was made to the winner. So while it wasn’t exactly thepresentation we had in mind, we are proud to announce the recipient of the 2020 Hino Motors Novi Educational Foundation scholarship. This is the second year of a 10-year, $25,000 program and comes at an unprecedented time.
The winner, Vinaayak Puliyadi, was chosen based on his submission essay on what leadership means to him as well as extracurricular activities and being admitted to a college or university in the fall. Vinaayak plans to attend Penn State University to study MechanicalEngineering and had this to share, “Thank you to everyone at Hino for creating this opportunity. My dreams always lied in learning as much about the world as possible and begin research as a freshman. Because of this new opportunity, I can finally relieve some of the stress on doing work-study and instead focus more on achieving this goal. My future goals beyond college will be to change the world we live in with further progressing technology in our vehicles.”
“We have an opportunity and responsibility to empower our young adults in our community especially during this national time of need,” said Joe Whalen, Director of Human Resources for Hino Trucks. “We are proud of all the Novi community students that have had their senior year cut short. These accomplished students are continuing to shine and persevere in spite of unprecedented circumstances.”