One of Dr. Allen's WMU rugby players earned a $10,000 scholarship!

Here's the article from the Western Herald:

International Student Athlete Earns $10,000 Scholarship

westernherald.com/sports/international-student-athlete-earns-10000-scholarship/

Frank Konieczki Sports Reporter

On October 30th, international-student-athlete Simbarashe Michael Chirara received the Greenleaf Trust Scholarship in Finance, which earned him the amount of $10,000 per year.

After applying for the scholarship earlier this year, Simba, as his rugby coaches and teammates call him, got the opportunity to proceed to the interview portion of the application process, which determined whether or not he would be awarded for his scholarly achievements. The award requirements were majoring in finance while maintaining a 2.5+ GPA.

Born and raised Harare, Zimbabwe, Simba had a dream like most kids in Africa to one day study in the United States, but didn’t have the financial resources to do so.

“My desire was to get a quality education in finance in the US and later become a financial guru,” Simba said.

His opportunity came with rugby. Simba represented his nation of Zimbabwe at the youth level and was beginning to get noticed by scouts when he started communicating with Western Michigan rugby coach, Dr. Mark Allen.

Through the scholarship, Simba was able to land an internship with Greenleaf Trust, which will continue until he graduates in the spring of 2015. When Simba is not interning at the Greenleaf Trust, he is playing second row and flanker for the WMU rugby club team.

“I believe I bring some experience, different style of play and positivity to the team.” Simba said of his role is on the Rugby squad.

“When we recruited Simba to come to WMU, I knew we would be getting a very experienced, intelligent, athletically gifted young man that would help take our program to the next level,” Coach Mark Allen said. “His positive attitude and strong core values have made him a good role model for our younger student-athletes.”

Simbarashe Michael Chirara is a prime example of why WMU prides itself on their international programs. Hailing all the way from Zimbabwe, Simba’s road to Western Michigan University has been anything but a smooth and easy journey.

The Greenleaf Trust Scholarship in Finance shows Simba the breadth of his accomplishments have not gone unnoticed and that his hard work and determination is finally starting to pay off.

As for the WMU Rugby team, they are ranked 41st in the country with a 4-2 record going into the MAC championship this weekend in Elkhart, Indiana, which will be held at the Moose Rugby Grounds on Nov. 8th and 9th.

The winner of the MAC championship will go on to the ACRC Bowl Championship in Charlotte, N.C. from November 21st to 23rd.