“I hope that he would be proud of the way that we’re using the inheritance from him to start the scholarship,” he said. 

Applications for the scholarship are open through Feb. 15, and recipients will be announced in May.

To qualify, the applicant must be an immigrant or refugee, or the child of at least one immigrant or refugee. Applicants must show financial need and merit through community, work, school or personal activities. People of any citizenship or documentation status are eligible to apply. 

The scholarship is open to anyone who is either currently in post-secondary education or is planning to enroll, no matter their age, said Quad Cities Community Foundation Grantmaking Specialist Kathleen Badejo. This education includes community college, college or university, and trade school. 

“It’s really open to anyone, no matter their age,” Badejo said. 

Students won’t need to reapply for the scholarship each year, and the only requirement to keep receiving the funds is a minimum 2.0 GPA. 

One of the goals Strunk said they had for the scholarship was to have it provide funds throughout the student’s whole education, bridging the gap from start to end, unlike scholarships that only last through the first year or two. It will also follow them if they switch schools, like going from a community college to a university.