Page 7 - AACC 2108 Impact Report
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    In Memory of Dr. Raj Gill
When family and friends considered how to honor the legacy of Dr. Rajwant “Raj” Kaur Gill, retired 34-year professor of Computer Science who passed in August of 2017, establishing an endowed scholarship in her name at AACC made perfect sense.
According to her son, Dr. Sonny Gill, Raj was a tireless force to
be reckoned with. As a little girl growing up in a village in India, she dreamed of attending school. Those dreams eventually became a reality but not without a great deal of hard work. “My mother overcame a great number of obstacles growing up. She moved across continents just to gain access to education. But once there, she excelled,” shared Gill. “She wanted to share this gift of education with others through her teaching.”
Raj’s passion for learning was exemplified by her perpetual desire
for life-long education through textbook editing, conferences, and AP exam evaluations. She was one of the first AACC professors to be certified in both C++ and Fortran. She enjoyed tutoring students
and avidly sought methods to hone her teaching skills for the next generation of students. She became Chair of the Department of Computer Sciences and truly enjoyed making a positive impact on the lives of future computer scientists. Her dream was to ensure access to the field of computer sciences by all students regardless of the student’s initial knowledge base.
Raj believed that diligence, desire for excellence, focus, and creativity were characteristics that positively shaped not only students but also humanity. “My mother used to
tell us that education is the most important thing you can do for
yourself and your community,” shared Dr. Gill. “Our hope is that we can help change someone’s life by gifting education in my mother’s honor. She would have taken great pride for the students bestowed with her Memorial Scholarship to carry that torch.”
 “My mother used to tell us that education is the most important thing you can do for yourself and your community.”
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