Ten Ohio University Students Receive New Gates Millennium Scholarship
Contact: Linda Daniels, director of multicultural programs, (740) 593-4027
ATHENS, Ohio (September 25, 2000) -- Ten Ohio University students are among the first to receive
scholarships from the Gates Millennium Scholars initiative, a first-year program
funded by Microsoft's Bill Gates that recognizes students for academic excellence,
leadership and extracurricular and community volunteer activities.
The Gates initiative is supported by Gates and his wife, Melinda, and is aimed at
expanding higher education opportunities to citizens who reflect the diversity of
society. During the next 20 years, the $1 billion program will award scholarships to
20,000 multicultural students.
Ohio University Gates Scholarship recipients are Thaisa Anderson of Englewood,
Ohio; Markila Brown of Warren, Ohio; Jordan Burress of Cleveland Heights, Ohio;
Carlos Garcia of Bucaramanga, Colombia; Rafael Hobson of Dayton, Ohio; Vanessa
Jones of Painesville, Ohio; Venetia Lambert of Houston; Stephanie Siek of Berea,
Ohio; Lindsay Simpson of Cleveland; and Jocelyn Wilson of Cincinnati.
More than 62,000 high school and college students nationwide applied for the
scholarships, and about 4,000, or less than 7 percent of the applicants, received the
awards. Applicants needed a minimum grade point average of 3.3 and had to be
enrolled or accepted into an undergraduate or graduate program in mathematics,
science, engineering, education or library science. The renewable scholarships are
based on financial need and cover part of the cost of tuition, fees, books and living
expenses.
