Gates Millennium Scholar Antoinette Myers (’12) knew she’d be the first in her family to attend college — she just didn’t know how they could afford it. Duyen Tran (’10), whose family had escaped Vietnam when she was a child, was the first in her family to be able to attend a small, private college after she was named a Gates Scholar. First-generation college students Melissa Mesinas (’12) and Berenice Villela (’12) were both humbled and emboldened by the scholarship award. As Berenice says, “it reminds me that I belong in college, and that others are invested in my education.”
More than just an academic scholarship, the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) program focuses on removing barriers to personal and academic success for low-income, high achieving students from minority backgrounds. Financially, GMS covers all loans and work-study components of a student’s financial aid package. “Unlike other students from humble backgrounds,” Duyen shared, “I didn’t have work-study, so I had more free time my first year to study and really explore life at Scripps.”
Their first year in the program, Scholars attend one of two national conferences. The LA conference was “by far one of the most exciting things that I participated in during my first year at Scripps,” according to Antoinette, who hails from Portland. “You don’t just get financial help with the Gates Scholarship, but you gain a family as well.”
All four of Scripps’s Gates Scholars believe the psychological impact of the award is tremendous. Melissa remembers the empowering message of Bill Gates, Sr. at the conference, how “his words of encouragement really put things in perspective. It was a reminder to persevere and to work my hardest.”
Beyond financial support and the confidence boost the award confers, GMS offers graduate school funding in particular fields and encourages Scholars to promote the program. Duyen, who attended a public high school of over 4,000, endured her “first big test in public speaking” when she signed on to become a Gates Ambassador and speak about the scholarship opportunity at underserved high schools. “It was empowering to be in a position of leadership like that, giving back to the community.”
“What’s great about this scholarship,” Antoinette explains, “is that it is truly about support and mentorship, care, and networking. It’s amazing how connected we all are to each other.” A social networking site enables program administrators and Scholars to advise, share, and find information.
Attending a conference at the Institute for International Public Policy, Duyen found she forged an even deeper bond with the other Gates Scholars she met from USC, Stanford, and other large universities. Antoinette and Melissa plan to form a chapter for Gates Scholars at the Claremont Colleges, to facilitate greater support and networking opportunities. As Melissa sums up, “Being a Gates Scholar makes me more motivated to help other students, and being surrounded by people with initiative just makes me even more ambitious.”