By TAM NGUYEN / Nguoi Viet 2
Christopher Nguyen Michael Nguyen Kathy Tran Montserrat Reyes Franklin Ly Andy Vu Ryan Huynh
WESTMINSTER, Calif. ― Christopher Nguyen was taking a tour of the University of California at Berkeley when he got the call ― the one that would change his life.
It was the notification he had been waiting, and hoping, for. Nguyen, an 18-year-old senior from La Quinta School, learned he was one of seven students from the Garden Grove Unified School District to earn the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship.
The Gates Millennium Scholarship funds a college education for 1,000 graduating students each year. According to a school district news release, winning the scholarship guarantees the students will have their undergraduate and graduate college expenses paid debt free, including all tuition, fees, textbooks and supplies, and housing.
The program was established in 1999 to serve low-income minority students and funded by a $1 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft.
With their scholarships, the seniors can focus on school instead of fretting about how to pay for it. That’s a relief to Nguyen, who became the second of four children in his family to receive the scholarship.
“I don’t have to worry about loans or money to pay for school, so it feels great,” Nguyen said.
The other winners from the Garden Grove Unified School District, along with the schools they will attend and their majors, are:
Michael Nguyen, Garden Grove High School: Brown University, English and economics
Kathy Tran, Los Amigos High School: UC Berkeley or UCLA, political science
Montserrat Reyes, Los Amigos High School: UC Irvine, political science
Franklin Ly, Rancho Alamitos High School: UC Santa Barbara, mechanical engineering
Andy Vu, Rancho Alamitos High School: Stanford University, physics and pre-med
Ryan Huynh, Santiago High School: UC Berkeley, business
With a high-school grade-point average of over 4.0, Christopher Nguyen said he will major in materials science and engineering.
“I did my research of the campus and founded out it was the right school for me and all the courses were top-notch toward my major,” Nguyen said. He said his older sisters have inspired him to do well in school.
“My sisters motivated me and made me wanted to learn more and be where I am today,” Nguyen said. “Of course there is the pressure but knowing my sisters can do it, then I can do the same.”
Nguyen’s tip for students? Don’t give up and set yourself to reach your goal no matter what it takes.
