Comlan Blaise Kinto of East Moline is one of six students in Illinois to receive a $1,000 Illinois Community College Faculty Association (ICCFA) scholarship.
The scholarship is awarded to full-time community college students who have completed at least 30 credit hours and have a minimum 3.5 GPA. Applicants have to provide a statement of their academic and personal goals along with a description of unpaid, voluntary community service and campus activities.
Kinto moved to the United States from Togo in October 2016 and enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes through the college’s Adult Education program in January 2017. He quickly transitioned into academic ESL classes then college-credit courses.
He is a senator with the Student Government Association and a volunteer with the ESL Mentors and Mentees Program. He also works in the college’s Campus Services Department, delivering mail to offices at the Quad-Cities Campus.
Kinto (holding certificate) is pictured with Jacob Winters, BHC instructor; Nina DeBisschop, BHC associate professor; Tim Wynes, BHC president; Dr. Amy Maxeiner, BHC vice president for instruction; and his brother, Yawovi Kinto.