Featured Scholar: Ali Fakhrudin Dadawalla

As his high school years drew to a close, Ali Dadawalla was encouraged to apply to the Smittcamp Family Honors College by a few SFHC alumni.

“These alumni had accomplished great things in their fields of interest, therefore they inspired me to follow their path and apply to the program dedicated solely to helping deserving students like me reach our higher education goals. I am proud to be an SFHC scholar. Without the scholarship support, advisors such as Dr. Attar, the SFHC office staff, and Fresno State faculty, I could not be where I am today. SFHC has entirely given their support and resources which has allowed me to pursue my unique course of study and greatly increased my exposure to community service throughout the valley.”

Ali, a sophomore with a special major in Neuroscience, truly possesses a love of community service and engagement. He first discovered this love in 2010 through the Cub Scouts. He volunteered with numerous community organizations and achieved his dream of becoming an Eagle Scout.

Ali’s Eagle Scout project consisted of planning, overseeing, and facilitating a service project with Fresno Economic Opportunities Commision Sanctuary Youth Shelter. The goal of this project was two-fold: to repair and clean up the dilapidated shelter, and to serve dinner to attendees of the sanctuary. Ali worked to fix the roof, polish the main halls, organize and clean up the supply shed, and beautify the entrance to the shelter.

His service work didn’t end there. He completed a total of 1,730 volunteer hours at organizations such as the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno, Central California Food Bank, Sunrise Senior Living, Valley Children’s Hospital, and Bethel Church in Sanger and Arizona during his high school years. 

Now, as a neuroscience major and member of the Honors College, Ali has completed a total of 350 hours of community service within the past year. 

As a recognition of the tremendous impact that Ali’s service has had on our local community, he was awarded the 2022 Paul DeRuosi Memorial Community Service Scholarship, which was presented to at the Spirit of Service reception on May 4, 2022. The award, which includes a $1,000 scholarship, is given each year to a student who exemplifies the commitment to service that Paul DeRuosi championed during his distinguished 31-year career at Fresno State.

“I am truly honored and grateful to receive such a prestigious award,” Dadawalla said. “I will carry forward Mr. DeRuosi’s legacy by continuing to serve communities in Fresno and beyond.“

The Paul DeRuosi Memorial Community Service Scholarship is sponsored by the DeRuosi family and is administered by the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning at Fresno State. This is the fourth year the scholarship has been awarded.