For the twelfth consecutive year, the Tualatin Historical Society has awarded the Jack Broome Scholarship to a deserving Tualatin High School student who plans to attend an Oregon University or accredited community college with the goal of completing a degree.
This year’s $3,000 scholarship went to Magnus Graham, who was nearly unanimously selected from a roster of 18 applicants.
The scholarship committee considered each candidate based on a history essay, activities, work, and volunteerism. They reviewed the classes taken and the grades achieved. Magnus is well prepared for his first year at the University of Portland.
To honor Jack Broome, a long-time Tualatin THS member, we have named the scholarship in his honor. Jack suggested that THS members establish a fund for Tualatin students. The members embraced Jack’s idea and, as of 2021, have given $27,000 in scholarships.
The scholarship committee works quietly in the background each year to raise funds and work tirelessly to select the individual they feel best meets the criteria for the Jack Broome Scholarship.
To learn more or donate to the scholarship, contact the Tualatin Historical Society at www.tualatinhistory.org or 503-885-1926
Graham’s Winning Essay:
I raise my hand. “The answer is Archduke Franz Ferdinand!” And with that, another round of trivia in Ms. Morris’s 7th grade history class was won. Not that any of the other students took that accomplishment as seriously as I did.
I was that kid. Youtube history consisting of history channels, surfing Wikipedia, taking in the history of the entire world. However, I didn’t see where I fit into the narrative. Mentions of African history for the most part were limited to ancient Egypt and slavery. Being raised in a eurocentric school system, I assumed it was simply because there hadn’t been much of importance outside of mainstream history. It took until I was 16 to even ask my parents about my family history, and I’m glad I did.
My father was born in 1960, the year Ghana’s first president was elected. Only 3 years before, it had been a colony of Britain. He lived through three military coups and spent his student days protesting the brutal military government. In this era, my mother stood in government ration lines for hours, waiting for her daily rice and oil. Her half-sister’s father was abducted by authorities and served in a prison camp for years, escaping on a night of planned executions.
We all come from somewhere; history hits closer to home than we think. My own life is a continuation of our collective story, which we make ourselves. I’m descended from revolutionaries, formerly colonized people. Sitting halfway across the world in a Tualatin classroom seems like a drab setting in comparison, but it’s given meaning by the context of the efforts of past generations to make it possible. To them, it’d be a miracle that I am here to write this essay.
