Also-Known-As is thrilled to announce the recipient of our 2023 Adoptee Excellence Scholarship. Please join us in congratulating Mya Bogers!
Mya (she/her) is a Guatemalan adoptee and a recent graduate of Wheeling Park High School who plans to enroll at Stetson University to study clinical psychology and Spanish. Growing up in rural West Virginia, Mya often felt alone as one of the few non-white individuals and international adoptees in her school. She recalls being the target of racism and microaggressions from her peers which only exacerbated these feelings.
Mya returned to Guatemala when she was 13 years old; this trip not only changed the way she viewed herself as a Guatemalan American, but also as an international adoptee. During her trip, she volunteered with a nonprofit to help impoverished families and learned about the social issues affecting the country. She returned to the United States with the intention of continuing to aid those back in Guatemala, which she accomplished through subsequent trips and through her local community, having been empowered to use her adoptee identity and Guatemalan culture as a bridge between herself and her peers.
As the twice-elected president of her high school’s Foreign Languages Uniting Entire Nations Together (FLUENT) Club, she and her fellow students advocated for the continuance of her school’s Advanced Placement Spanish and Advanced Placement French language programs when they were at risk of being cut. She also fundraised for The Backyard School in San Bartolome Milpas Altas while sharing the beauty and richness of Guatemala and Guatemalan culture with others—she even spoke about her experience as an adoptee to her classmates and teachers. She reflects, “I also wanted to raise awareness for the plight of so many teens in my birth country . . . I thought this was the perfect way to perhaps stop some of the slights I had faced in my hallways.”
In addition to being a community organizer and an academically accomplished student, Mya aspires to become a therapist specializing in adoption trauma. As a therapist, she also hopes to “advocate nationally for better access to mental health services and remove barriers to needed care.” To achieve this goal, Mya enrolled in her high school’s psychology course and the Introduction to Psychology course at her local community college, earning an ‘A’ in both. She has also dedicated the last five years to learning Spanish so she can serve both English and Spanish-speaking groups. In fact, her choice of university was made, in part, because of its large Hispanic population, which she strongly believes will facilitate her own personal growth and will act as “more than a classroom.” She writes, “I didn’t get to choose where I was born or even to where I [was] adopted, but I get to choose now, and I choose to go to Stetson.”
About the Selection Process
Qualities the Also-Known-As Scholarship Committee looked for in our recipient, beyond high academic achievement, were a strong sense of adoptee identity; dedication to both the adoptee community and to their local community; ambition and drive to achieve both short- and long-term goals; and individual growth, among others. This process proved to be extremely thoughtful and thorough; no two candidates were the same, which made the Committee’s job both exciting and difficult. Mya’s powerful use of her adoptee identity in her personal life, academics, and professional goals resonated greatly with the Committee. They were also highly impressed by her maturity, resilience, pride in her Guatemalan heritage, willingness to help and empower others, and by the steps she has already taken at such a young age to achieve her goals.
This year, we received over 60 applicants from across the country, each of a high caliber with outstanding academic performance. Candidates were internationally adopted at various ages and from eight countries: China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Russia, and South Korea. The Committee carefully reviewed each application to find candidates that best exemplified the scholarship’s mission: to honor an adoptee student whose integrity, drive, and leadership has led them to serving others while pursuing a life of purpose and significance. Led by Also-Known-As Board member Katie Mantele, the Committee sought out applicants who, while facing and exploring their own adoptee and racial identities—as well as the complexities and nuances that accompany them—have also used their unique experiences to help others find their own voice and place. The Committee was deeply moved by these young adoptees who have pursued personal and academic excellence, as well as distinguished themselves as leaders at their schools, in their communities, and within the larger international adoptee community.
Also-Known-As would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Emily Brillon, Nathan Ferch, Isabelle St. Clair, Adam van Eeckhout, and Margaret Yannopoulos for their time, empathy, care, and dedication to each and every applicant.
Congratulations, Mya! We are ecstatic to recognize and celebrate you with the awarding of this scholarship. During these extremely challenging and unpredictable times, adoptees like you and your fellow applicants serve as fine representatives of our international adoptee community and beacons of hope for a brighter future. We applaud the example you set for adoptees across our country and wish you all the best in the years ahead.
Photograph © Jacquelyn Cynkar
The Also-Known-As Adoptee Excellence Scholarship would not be possible without the support and enthusiasm of our community. If you would like to help support the scholarship, please donate to our scholarship fund. You can make a one-time donation to the scholarship fund here or email us at scholarship@alsoknownas.org for more information.
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Also-Known-As, Inc. is a New York-based national nonprofit adoptee organization that serves international adoptees and their families. Founded in 1996 by Hollee McGinnis, it is the longest-running adoptee-led organization for adoptee services in the United States. The mission of Also-Known-As is to build a community that empowers the voices of adult international adoptees, while providing resources and space to acknowledge the loss of birth country, culture, language, and biological family. Also-Known-As is not a culturally-specific organization.
The Also-Known-As Adoptee Excellence Scholarship is the first scholarship program of its kind that acknowledges, celebrates, and supports outstanding undergraduate students and graduating high school seniors who are international adoptees, born in and adopted from another country to the United States. It is open to international adoptees who demonstrate the attributes of leadership, drive, integrity, and civic engagement. One individual will be awarded a $1,000.00 (one-thousand dollars and zero cents) scholarship to support their full-time study at an accredited institution.
Also-Known-As seeks candidates who have used their adoption story and formative youth experiences to lead, serve, and pursue a life of purpose and significance, both individually and for their communities. An all-adoptee scholarship committee will be responsible for selecting the scholarship recipient.
International adoptees are invited to apply if they are U.S. citizens; age 25 or under; and plan to enroll full-time in 2023 at an accredited college, university or vocational-technical school in the United States. Financial need will be considered. This merit scholarship will be awarded in June 2023.
Applicants of the Also-Known-As Adoptee Excellence Scholarship must:
An all-adoptee scholarship committee will be responsible for selecting the scholarship recipient.
Applicants will be notified via email in June 2023. The scholarship recipient consents via photo consent form to the release of images captured of them, or images under their ownership, to be used for media publication (newsletter, website, social media). Also-Known-As bestows scholarship payment via check. If you have any additional questions, please email the scholarship committee at scholarship@alsoknownas.org.
Please complete the four following documents and email them in a SINGLE email to scholarship@alsoknownas.org. The subject line should be: “Scholarship Application 2023: Your Full Name.”
Your application will not be considered unless all required documents are submitted in the same email (with exceptions for your letter of recommendation and official transcript, if applicable). Files must be uploaded in either a Word document or PDF file as specified below (no Google Document links or other file-hosting websites).
Application instructions and essay questions are available in this PDF file.
Required Documents:
If you have any additional questions, please review the FAQ or email the scholarship committee at scholarship@alsoknownas.org.
Please join us in congratulating our 2022 Also-Known-As Adoptee Excellence Scholarship winner, Jin Oakes (he/him)! An inspiring candidate, Jin exemplifies an outstanding sense of resilience combined with a profound and humbling empathy. He was adopted from China and raised in a small, predominantly white town in New Hampshire, and is currently an undergraduate student in Massachusetts working towards a Bachelor of Arts in History and Asian Studies. He hopes to earn a PhD in a related field after graduation with the ultimate goal of establishing a permanent museum at the Smithsonian dedicated to Asian and Pacific Islander American history since one of his passions is getting “the stories of Asian, Pacific Island, and Hawaiian Americans out there.” He is also a skilled photographer, musician, and scrapbooker.
In 2018, Jin found a community of other adoptees through the online group Subtle Asian Adoptee Traits. As one of the group’s earliest administrators, Jin helped establish a welcoming and warm online space for Asian adoptees all over the world and, at the same time, learned from others, shared his story, and made new friendships. This experience taught him the importance of community, dialogue, and how to connect with others whose lives and experiences differed from his. It also demonstrated his long-term commitment to other adoptees and the importance of having a space like Subtle Asian Adoptee Traits for those who may not have a community of their own.
Apart from his academic achievements (including graduating as his high school’s valedictorian), professional goals, and community involvement, Jin’s determination to assert who he is on his own terms is nothing less than a portrait of strength. As international adoptees, we know that identity is complex and more times than not, requires the audacity to take up and make space for ourselves and others. For Jin, his transgender/LGBTQ+ identity is just as much a part of him as are his adoptee and Asian identities. It wasn’t until late 2021 when he decided to fully and proudly embrace who he is, despite being unaccepted by those closest to him. With the support of his friends and his partner, he continued to persevere and embrace his true self: Asian, adoptee, and transgender. He reflects that “the support in real life and online made me realize I didn’t need to be afraid. I could just be me—and that was enough.”
Congratulations, Jin! We are ecstatic to recognize and celebrate you with the awarding of this scholarship. During these extremely challenging and unpredictable times, adoptees like you and your fellow applicants serve as fine representatives and beacons of hope for a brighter future. We applaud the example you set for adoptees across our country and wish you all the best for the years ahead.
When is the application due?
Due dates for each scholarship are announced on this page and via our newsletter.
Is the scholarship open to graduate students?
No. At this time, the scholarhip is only available to undergraduate students in the United States.
Do I have to be an Asian adoptee to apply?
No, you just need to have been adopted internationally to the United States. Our scholarship—and Also-Known-As as an organization—is not exclusively for Asian adoptees.
Can I donate to the scholarship?
You can make a one-time donation to the scholarship fund here or email us at scholarship@alsoknownas.org for more information.
Where can I learn more?
Follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and sign up for our newsletter, or contact us directly at scholarship@alsoknownas.org.
I have a question that was not answered here; who can I reach out to?
Contact us at scholarship@alsoknownas.org.
Jin Oakes (he/him) exemplifies an outstanding sense of resilience combined with a profound and humbling empathy. He was adopted from China and raised in a small, predominantly white town in New Hampshire, and is currently an undergraduate student in Massachusetts working towards a Bachelor of Arts in History and Asian Studies. He hopes to earn a PhD in a related field after graduation with the ultimate goal of establishing a permanent museum at the Smithsonian dedicated to Asian and Pacific Islander American history since one of his passions is getting “the stories of Asian, Pacific Island, and Hawaiian Americans out there.” He is also a skilled photographer, musician, and scrapbooker.
In 2018, Jin found a community of other adoptees through the online group Subtle Asian Adoptee Traits. As one of the group’s earliest administrators, Jin helped establish a welcoming and warm online space for Asian adoptees all over the world and, at the same time, learned from others, shared his story, and made new friendships. This experience taught him the importance of community, dialogue, and how to connect with others whose lives and experiences differed from his. It also demonstrated his long-term commitment to other adoptees and the importance of having a space like Subtle Asian Adoptee Traits for those who may not have a community of their own.
Apart from his academic achievements (including graduating as his high school’s valedictorian), professional goals, and community involvement, Jin’s determination to assert who he is on his own terms is nothing less than a portrait of strength. As international adoptees, we know that identity is complex and more times than not, requires the audacity to take up and make space for ourselves and others. For Jin, his transgender/LGBTQ+ identity is just as much a part of him as are his adoptee and Asian identities. It wasn’t until late 2021 when he decided to fully and proudly embrace who he is, despite being unaccepted by those closest to him. With the support of his friends and his partner, he continued to persevere and embrace his true self: Asian, adoptee, and transgender. He reflects that “the support in real life and online made me realize I didn’t need to be afraid. I could just be me—and that was enough.”
Allemu Slattery exemplifies an outstanding sense of self-initiative and resilience, combined with a profound and humbling empathy. A recent high school graduate from Minnesota, Allemu and his sister were adopted from Ethiopia when he was seven years old. Faced with the difficulties of language and cultural immersion at a young age, over time he transformed personal learning challenges into strengths, only to excel academically by the end of his high school career. Graduating in the top 5% of his class, he also tutored math and literacy at his school, volunteered as a little league baseball and middle school basketball coach, and earned specialized state certification as a soccer referee. Within the greater community, Allemu continued to give back. He founded a food distribution project called “Oodles of Noodles” that disperses surplus goods to food shelters and raised money to honor fallen veterans on Memorial Day at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. He went from apprentice to employee at a non-profit bike shop that provides teens with exposure to small-business ownership and specialized skills in repairing bikes. Of all these, Allemu’s proudest accomplishment so far has been for his birthplace: he created a successful GoFundMe campaign for Roots Ethiopia, a non-profit that builds schools, provides educational materials and Covid-19 supplies to impoverished areas of Ethiopia. Through his generosity, this adoptee has been able to serve many communities on different scales. He will continue this work by attending the University of Minnesota to pursue Architectural Design and create energy efficient affordable housing in urban areas. One day, he hopes to become the principal architect at his own design firm.
Fikirte Hunt was born in Ethiopia and adopted when she was two years old. Raised in a multicultural family in New York City, Fikirte is a global citizen and advocate. Through various leadership positions, she has made a positive impact in her community with her work in Model United Nations, Black Student Union, and student government, along with non-profit youth organizations Girls Write Now, All Together Now, and LitWorld. Ms. Hunt is also keenly aware of the importance of community for young people: she volunteers her time to mentor young adoptees through playgroups and camps; as a writing teacher and mentor, she also helps young people find their voice and share their stories through writing and by creating short films.
Fikirte has exemplified a dedication to personal development and empathy for others and has sought out ways to let people know they are not alone in their experiences. After overcoming major challenges in her own life, Ms. Hunt set out to help others by spreading mental health awareness through her own social media campaign. One of her teachers writes, “Her perseverance and strength is quite admirable; I’ve never encountered a student like Fiki who fights through hardships with such love and positivity.” Fikirte aspires to become a psychologist for international adoptees and their families one day; she will be attending Bates College and majoring in clinical psychology in the fall.
Outside of these achievements, Fikirte is a National Honor Society member, writer, filmmaker, pianist, fencer, and award-winning chess player. She ranked 11th in the nation for girls’ youth chess, and has even represented the United States in World Youth Chess competitions overseas. Also-Known-As is ecstatic to showcase and celebrate this incredible individual. Congratulations, Fikirte! We applaud the example you set for adoptees across America and wish you the best in your bright future ahead.
Darci Siegel is a rising senior at Vassar College, Darci was adopted from China when she was 11 months old. Acutely aware of how her own story is grounded in gender-based policies, she has held actor, activist, teacher, writer, and community organizer roles for various causes she feels passionate about, including creating inclusive safe spaces for women and people of color on her college campus, and fighting injustices against women and children on various city, state, national and international platforms. This summer Darci will be visiting China with her orphanage “sisters” and documenting her experiences. She will also be writing her senior thesis on transnational adoption, focusing on transracial and transcultural identity, and exploring the cultural, political and social identity of female Asian adoptees in the United States.