Azerbaijan Society of America has announced Mason Keller as the winner of a Special Scholarship honoring the 100th Birthday of the great Azerbaijani politician, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (1993-2003) President Heydar Aliyev. 

The personal stories she shared in her essay inspired the judges to award her the scholarship.  Mason was born in Azerbaijan in May 2005 and adopted by an American mother in 2006 when she was just a year old. Her last name on her Azerbaijani birth certificate is Aliyeva, and her adopted family was told she was named after Heydar Aliyev. 

Mason and her family attended the "Celebrating Our Families” reunions held annually by American adoptive families. The family made sure their daughter was connected to her heritage and she represented Azerbaijan in international day festivals in her school. 

Mason will attend Penn State University in the fall to study psychology and criminology and is planning to go to law school. $5,000, the highest award money given by ASA, will be paid directly to her student account at the university. 

 Congratulations are extended to all of the students who entered and submitted many outstanding essays. Regretfully, there can only be one winner. 

 ASA established a scholarship fund 10 years ago to help Azerbaijani, Azerbaijani-American, and Azerbaijan-born children adopted by American families, who are studying at an accredited college or university in the United States. 

The Azerbaijan Society of America Scholarship Program is totally funded by the Azerbaijan-Americans and American members of ASA.