The Batavia Chamber of Commerce announced the winners of its Inspire Scholarships for 2024:

• Rabia Jafari | Inspiring Entrepreneurship

• Isabella Jonas | Inspiring Women in Business

• Rachel Rempert | Inspiring Contributors to a Batavia Chamber Business

• Adam Deitchman | Inspiring Career & Technical Achievers

All winners are members of the 2024 graduating class of Batavia Public School District 101. The financial award of $1,000 will be paid directly to the institute the recipient will be attending.

According to Margaret Perreault, president and CEO of Batavia Chamber of Commerce, the scholarship committee was impressed by the number and quality of the applicants for this year’s scholarship program.

“We are happy to support our community and our membership with this program,” Perreault said. “Because we are looking for future inspiring leaders, the scholarship application explored this sentiment. The answers we received were inspirational, making it difficult to choose only one awardee in each category.

Perreault says the program is a great opportunity for member businesses to show that they are committed to their employees and their families.

Here’s more info on the awardees, their intended college and the scholarship category:

Inspiring Entrepreneurship: A scholarship to reward a student who has interest in starting a business to encourage consideration to locate in Batavia someday. Rabia Jafari is the awardee in this category and will attend DePaul University. Rabia found that she had an entrepreneurial drive when she enrolled in Dennis Piron’s incubator class at Batavia High School. She helped launch Impact Threads, a clothing brand that gives 15% of profits to different causes each month. The first design brought in $1,000 in revenue. She is planning to launch her own clothing brand this summer, working to expand the line while attending classes in the fall.

Inspiring Women in Business: A scholarship to reward a female high school student interested in a business major to encourage more females to pursue these fields. Isabella Jonas is the awardee in this competitive category and will attend Illinois State University where she hopes to pursue a degree in human resources. She cited a family friend, Katie Pratts, as a successful businesswoman. Isabella says that Ms. Pratts’ success has taught her that you can do anything you want to do by putting in the hard work and time.

Inspiring Contributors to a Batavia Chamber Business: A scholarship to reward a high school student for working for a Batavia Chamber business during high school. Rachel Rempert is the awardee in this category and plans to attend the University of Loyola Chicago with a major in criminal justice and a minor in psychology. Since July 2021, Rachel has worked as a server at Covenant Living at the Holmstad, a job that she says has taught her teamwork, patience and remaining calm, all of which she believes will benefit her in the field that she has chosen. It is Rachel’s 10-year goal to be in the field of forensic science working for the FBI.

Inspiring Career & Technical Achievers: A scholarship to reward a high school student interested in a trade or career in manufacturing. Adam Deitchman is the awardee in this category and will attend Waubonsee Community College to continue pursuing a career in fire science. He says that his interest in this career began with his Boy Scout career and was cemented when he began attending programs at the Fox Valley Career Center. Adam is also in the cadet program at the Sugar Grove Fire Protection District.

The four recipients were acknowledged and presented with their checks at Senior Recognition Night at Batavia High School on Tuesday, May 14.

“We sincerely wish our scholarship winners, along with all the top-notch applicants, much success as they continue their educational journey,” said Perreault. “Congratulations to all!”

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