Keypoints
- The aim of the scholarship
- The recipient's reactions and comments
- The involvement of previous recipients in the community
Rabi Nimrod Simono, a distinguished Assyrian scholar from Iran and one of the giants of Assyrian literature in the twentieth century, came to Australia in 1985 as a guest of the Assyrian Australian Association (AAA) in Sydney.
The AAA decided to honour Rabi Simono and to commemorate his historic first visit to Australia by establishing an educational scholarship and naming it after him – Rabi Nimrod Simono Scholarship.
Since the first award presentation in 1987, 122 recipients have been awarded so far, including this year's recipients. Many have succeeded in their academic studies and became professionals in many fields like Medicine, law, engineering and economics.
The scholarship recipients for the 2021 were:
Miss Cynthia Baba, Mr. Savia Shaba, Miss Natalie Tikriti.
Another award was presented by ACERO for the best refugee and migrant achievers. The award went to Jennifer Shahin, for her involvement in the church and community activities. It was presented to her by Rev. Ramen Youkhanis, who also delivered a very inspirational speech, which was well-received by everyone.
In his speech, Mayor of Fairfield Cr Frank Carbone commended the achievements of the recipients. The Mayor told SBS that the recipients who gained high marks show how smart they are. "This just shows how many talented people we have in the community and we see many of them in the Assyrian community," Mayor Carbone said.
This just shows how many talented people we have in the community and we see many of them in the Assyrian community
After the end of the ceremony, SBS interviewed some of the guests and organisers to hear their reactions to the event.
Dr. Ben Daoud is the President of the Assyrian Australian Association said he was very pleased with hard the work done by the RNS committee. Dr. Daoud says the event was well organised, speeches were short and were presented by the youth, a breakaway from the traditional speeches delivered by Presidents or secretaries or central committee members.
One of the highlights of the evening was a video that showed previous recipients who have succeeded in a variety of their careers. They told their story and how appreciative they are to the Scholarship.
You can watch this video here
Guest speaker Dr. Ramina Jajoo-Frindrich, a recipient in 1988, finished medicine in Australia, then travelled to the USA to further her studies.
Dr. Ramina Jajoo-Frindrich is a Rheumatologist and practiced medicine in Phoenix-Arizona. In her speech, she told her story of arriving in Australia from Iran in the mid 1980s, learning the English language, studying medicine and achieving many goals in her life. She talked about determination, persistence and hard work to reach the goals.
Dr. Jajoo-Frindrich thanked Rabi Nimrod Simono's Scholarship for giving her the award in 1988, which helped in her studies.
Mr. Philimon Darmo, a prominent personality in the Assyrian community in Sydney and one of the founders of the scholarship, expressed his joy seeing the Assyrian Australian Association carrying on with the scholarship program for 34 years.
the main objective of the scholarship is to establish a bond and commitment from the recipients, to pay back to the community
Mr. Darmo expressed his disappointment with the lack of involvement of past recipients with the community after they finished their studies. because that was one of the aims the scholarship was established for.
He said the main objective of the scholarship is to establish a bond and commitment from the recipients, to pay back to the community by getting involved in organisations, associations and Assyrian establishments.
The events took place at the Eden Reception Centre, a newly refurbished hall (formally Nineveh Club) suitable for an important occasion such as the Rabi Nimrod Simono scholarship award presentation.
The evening featured a performance from two Assyrian artists, countertenor Robert Adam and pianist Lolita Emmanuel, who performed Assyrian songs for the audience.
