$25,000 Jabara Scholarships awarded to Wichita seniors

  • Wichita high school seniors Zaena Helm and Riley Webb were awarded the 2017 Jabara Scholarship.
  • The scholarship, named for Fran Jabara, is own of the most prestigious at WSU.
  • Helm and Webb will each receive $25,000 over four years to attend Wichita State.

Two Wichita high school seniors have won the 2017-18 Professor Fran Jabara Scholarship in Entrepreneurship at Wichita State University.

The winners, Zaena Helm and Riley Webb, will each receive $25,000 over four years to attend Wichita State.

The scholarship is one of the most prestigious at WSU and one of the largest entrepreneurship scholarships nationally. To qualify, a student must have a minimum ACT score of 24, a minimum high school GPA of 3.5 and be a declared entrepreneurship major, admitted to WSU by Feb. 1.

The scholarship is named for the late Fran Jabara, who served on the Wichita State faculty for 40 years. He was dean of the College of Business Administration for seven years and founded the Center for Entrepreneurship at WSU, the first of its kind. He received the Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 and the President’s Medal in 2002.

Jabara’s son, Harvey, will represent him at the reception, along with President Bardo, Barton School of Business Dean Anand Desai and several faculty and staff.

Zaena Helm

Helm is a senior at Wichita High School East and plans to major in entrepreneurship.

She has been involved as president of the Spanish Honors Society and has participated in Scholar’s Bowl, track and field and theater. She is also the co-founder of the Middle Eastern Dance Club at East.

Helm has spent time as a tutor for several years and enjoys volunteering for runs and walks in the Wichita area. She was recognized as a regional Track and Field qualifier and placed third in the 2015 Fairfield Scholar’s Bowl.

Riley Webb

Webb is a senior at Bishop Carroll Catholic High School, and plans to major in entrepreneurship.

He has participated in cross country, Madrigals Elite Choir, theater and track and field.

Webb has volunteered at Park West Retirement Community and is an altar server and usher at St. Anne Catholic Church. He serves at the Lord’s Diner and works as a gardening coordinator at Stucky Middle School. He was recognized as an outstanding German student and received a Golden Eagle Academic Achievement Award and a National Honor Society Award.