“I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for my father, my mother, Mr. Ebeid and the ACCESS community.”

Kettering University senior Steven Shaker was a featured speaker at the 42nd annual ACCESS Dinner in Detroit April 27.

Several government leaders in Michigan spoke at the event, including Sen. Carl Levin, Gov. Rick Snyder in a recorded message, and Dearborn Mayor John B. Reilly. Two prominent Arab-Americans were honored at the event as Arab-Americans of the Year -- journalist Diane Rehm and surgeon Dr. Marwan Abouljoud. ACCESS is the largest Arab-American services non-profit organization in the United States.

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Shaker, an Electrical Engineering major from Grand Blanc, spoke to more than 2,000 people in attendance as one of the recipients of the Russell J. Ebeid Scholarship. The scholarship was established by Ebeid, a 1962 graduate, as part of his endowment to the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan. Many of the grants from the Ebeid Family Fund are to provide scholarships for Arab-Americans to attend Kettering University.

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Steven Shaker (right) with parents Scott and Holly Shaker. Photo courtesy of ACCESS.

Shaker, who co-ops at Calsonic Kansei in Farmington Hills, Mich., is one of four students to receive the scholarship since it started. Others who have received it are Eric Salem, Ryan Boukzam and Ahmed Alwhysee.
 
"The scholarship has been a wonderful gift," Shaker said. "I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for my father, my mother, Mr. Ebeid and the ACCESS community."