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Kenya King
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Perimeter College
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DUNWOODY, Ga.--Dr. Paulos Yohannes is an award-winning researcher, chemistry professor and college administrator who understands the power of paying it forward.
It’s a lesson he learned early on and one of the reasons for his 20-year record of giving to Perimeter College for student scholarships and other initiatives.
In 1981, Yohannes boarded a flight and headed to the United States to attend graduate school. He’d left his home country of Ethiopia with a single suitcase and $100. Although he had a graduate assistant position waiting for him at the University of Kansas (KU), he didn’t realize that he’d be expected to pay his dorm fee upfront.
“When I came here, I didn’t have much,” Yohannes recalled. “I didn’t have money to pay the dorm fee.”
But Yohannes, who now serves as Perimeter’s associate dean for research and STEM, did possess an unwavering determination to succeed. His grit caught the attention of the department chair of chemistry at KU.
“So, he allowed me to borrow money from the foundation,” Yohannes said.
It’s a courtesy that Yohannes has never forgotten. Since starting at Perimeter College in 1992, he has made it a point to help students, who are just like he once was, by being a financial supporter of the university.
“Just helping a little bit is my obligation,” he said. “It means a lot to (students).”
Using monthly payroll deduction, Yohannes’ contributions at the Dean’s Society and President’s Society giving levels, allow him to support the Decatur Campus Botanical Garden, Mario Bennekin Black History Symposium and Emergency Assistance funds.
In addition to philanthropy, Yohannes is big on research. Earlier this year, he received the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship (CADF), which will enable him to work with chemistry faculty at Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa University, his undergrad alma mater, and Georgia State to help identify and analyze key healing ingredients in medicinal plants native to Ethiopia. While in Ethiopia, Yohannes also will conduct seminars and teach a graduate course at the university.
As for the impact he’s making at Perimeter, Yohannes encourages others to give as well.
“I hope a lot of people understand that many of our students need a lot of help, not a big help, but a small help,” he said.
Contact Victoria Dorsey, senior director of Development at Perimeter College, [email protected], to learn how you can support education through philanthropy.
Story by Kysa Anderson Daniels
Photo by Bill Roa