http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/
2011/02/18/2011-02-18_manhattan_college_offers_cambodian_girl_in_need_
a_math_scholarship.html#ixzz1EKPA08C5
Manhattan College offers Cambodian girl in need a math scholarship
BY CORINNE LESTCH DAILY NEWS WRITER
Friday, February 18th 2011, 4:00 AM
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Manhattan College Professor Helene Tyler was teaching an advanced math course in Cambodia last month when a young woman, bright beyond her years, immediately caught her eye.
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Thursday, the Riverdale college’s admissions department told Tyler that Tor has been accepted to study mathematics this September.
“Knowing how much she loves to learn, I’m just so excited that she now has \[this\] opportunity,” said a choked-up Tyler.
She immediately sent Tor an email with the good news – even though it was 2:30 a.m. in Cambodia.
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Tyler learned that Tor is an avid Jane Austen reader and tennis player. Her parents, though considered middle-class by Cambodian standards, are poor tailors who make traditional wedding outfits.
Since the brutal Khmer Rouge rule ended in the late 1970s, Cambodians have suffered economically and academically. About one-third of the people live below the poverty line and are illiterate.
According to the education minister, Chan Roath, there are only four resident citizens who hold doctorate degrees in mathematics.
Tyler said that although she is excited that Tor will be able to broaden her horizons, the issue of money still looms.
“Now the big task is for \[Manhattan\] to secure the necessary funds through whatever available scholarship resources there are,” she said. “She’d need everything – full tuition, room and board, books, a plane ticket.”
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[JR: MC = a one armed bball center, an impoverished Cambodian math whiz, ... It's good to be a Jasper when MC does stuff like this.]
# # # # # posted 2011-02-18 11:20
