The Jérôme Lohez Foundation was created after the death of Robert Jérôme Lohez on 11 September, 2001 in the World Trade Center. His widow Dening Lohez decided to distribute scholarships to young Americans to study in France and young French making the journey in reverse. “I can honor my French husband’s memory by helping foster Franco-American exchanges. I remain astonished by the most subtle misunderstandings internationally and the inability of people to get on the same wavelength. Life can not fully be lived unless we take advantage of all the chances to meet others.”
The Jérôme Lohez foundation is affiliated with the most prestigious schools, School for Computing and Advanced Technologies (EPITA), Columbia University – School of Engineering and Applied Science, Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), and the Stevens Institute of Technology. Although this scholarship has an academic component, it also attaches to the values of students, their professional and personal development and background. As such, the project is currently supporting Dochez Pauline who is travelling the world to meet and help women or Captain Jordan Becker, who spent ten years in the U.S. Army and conducted combat patrols in Iraq.
Pauline Dochez young winner confirms this view. “I never applied for another scholarship, and am proud to have been selected, one feels understood and supported. Without this scholarship I would not have had the confidence to fully lead my own projects. The sum awarded to students is not sufficient to pay for an entire school year but is a nice way to give them confidence and encourage them. France welcomes and encourages “the generous action and useful forum for cultural and educational exchanges. It’s a great answer to the monstrous attack perpetrated against the Twin Towers.”
The competition for the award 2010 – 2011 is open. It will be awarded to a student at Columbia University pursuing a degree in one of three French institutions, a student from one the three French institutions pursuing an academic year at Columbia University and a student of the The School for Computing and Advanced Technologies. The deadline for applications is September 30, 2010.
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This article was first published in French Morning on 19 November 2009:
http://frenchmorning.com/ny/2009/11/19/prestige-et-bourse-universitaire/