PHS produces ANOTHER Three Gates Millennium Scholarship Winners in 2012!

    Paramount High School is proud to announce three students have won the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship (GMS) this year.  This is the second time Paramount High School has had three Gates Millennium winners in a single year. Seniors, Jesus Villegas, Paola Ruiz and Maria Jimenez-Aguilar bring the total number of Gates Millennium Scholarship winners to 12 coming from Paramount High School.  Jesus Villegas is planning on going to Cal-State Long Beach, Paola Ruiz is considering offers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, and Maria Jimenez-Aguilar is planning to attend UC Davis in the fall of 2012. 

    These three PHS seniors are part of 1,000 students selected nationally each year for this highly competitive scholarship that requires strong academics along with school and community involvement. The student’s accomplishment is especially notable in context of the more than 24,000 students who applied in January making this year the largest and most competitive group of candidates in the program’s history.  The application takes three people to complete; the student, a nominator (counselor), and a recommender (teacher). The Gates scholarship reduces financial barriers for African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American and Hispanic American students with high academic and leadership promise who have significant financial need.

    The Gates scholarship also helps increase the representation of these target groups in the disciplines of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health and the sciences, where these groups are severely underrepresented.  The Gates Millennium Scholarship renews each year as long as students maintain satisfactory academic progress.  Graduate school funding continues for Gates Millennium Scholars in the areas of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.

    The GMS program is so much more than the scholarship funds students will receive.  Many GMS programs and activities have been designed for the recipients as resources, to assist them with continued development as a leader and to allow them to connect to the Gates Scholar community in a variety of ways.  One example among the wide range of resources the Gates program provides is the GMS Freshmen Leadership Conference, specifically designed to orient and prepare students for a smooth transition to college and to help them maximize the GMS experience.  Other GMS Leadership Development Programs include Academic Empowerment services (ACE) to support academic success, graduate school planning for continued education and a mentoring program.  There is also an online resource center and a social networking website that gives students exclusive access to other Gates Scholars, tips on developing good study habits and time management, a calendar of GMS events and announcements of internships, fellowships and other scholarships, some unique to Gates Scholars.

The Gates Millennium Scholars Program was established in 1999 and was initially funded by a one billion dollar grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  To date this program has funded more than 15,000 Gates Millennium Scholars since its inception.  Gates Scholars have enrolled in more than 1,500 colleges and universities.  The program has obtained a graduation rate of 79.9% with over 7,000 graduates completing their degrees since the inception of the program.  Jesus, Paola and Maria will join other Gates Scholars across America in developing a diversified education and join the future leaders of our country by successful completion of their bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees – all paid for through the Gates Millennium Scholarship.  This scholarship opportunity is truly a life-changing event for these three Paramount High School students.