Pot Shop Gifts High School Senior Full Scholarship to MSU

Michigan’s cannabis market will generate somewhere in the neighborhood of a Billion dollars annually. That equates to about $100 million in tax revenue for public schools. One Lansing dispensary decided to go one step further. Tom James the owner of Homegrown Cannabis Company in Lansing said this week that his company has awarded a full-ride scholarship starting this fall to attend Michigan State University. The recipient is 17 year old senior Ridwan Sheikh-Omar, a student at Everett High School. They announced the scholarship contest last September.

City Pulse reports “We wanted to be able to award at least one scholarship to a Black student in Lansing, which was mainly in response to the Black Lives Matter movement,” James said. “We thought the biggest impact we could have would be to invest in the education of our African American community right here in Lansing, especially for someone that wants to make a social change.” Sheikh-Omar described herself as a proud young Somalian and African American woman who primarily desires to help her community.

She plans to major in biomedical science, and specialize in pediatric medicine, so she can give back to the community. She became interested in this field after experiencing many hospital visits as a child for treatment.
Four years of all college expenses covered, is valued at over $200,000. There were about 40 who applied for the scholarship grant after being announced last fall. The students who applied were required to maintain a 2.75 GPA, and study subjects that “impact social justice or social change.”

Sheik-Omar said “One way I plan to improve my community’s quality of life is to fight the social inequalities in health care.” Her plans are to become a pediatrician specialist, so she can have a practice where people from all walks of life can get help with no fear, worries or regrets. She believes no one should have to avoid hospitals because of medical bills.

There are many different opinions on the cannabis industry in Michigan, but this one little dispensary in Lansing is doing big things, to help the community it serves. Homegrown Cannabis Company truly changed a life for the better, without a doubt putting the high in Higher education.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app