Two BUILD Oakland seniors receive Gates Scholarships

                              
"I kept telling my mom, 'we don't have to worry no more,'" said Aja.

And indeed, 2010 BUILD Oakland graduates Aja S. (right) and Prescilla R. (left) do not have to worry any longer about affording their college tuitions after both were awarded good-through-graduation Gates Millennium Scholarships in late April. Aja and Prescilla will receive fully-funded undergraduate educations at Clark Atlanta University and Santa Clara University this fall, respectively, with their scholarships.

"I cried," Aja said. "I was stressing over paying for college before I received this scholarship.”

Adriana Garcia, BUILD’s College Advisor for Aja and Prescilla, was jubilant when she heard the news. "It was a good thing that I was out in the street because I started yelling! ... I was so proud!” said Garcia.

Each year, 1,000 Gates Millennium Scholarships are awarded to low-income students of color in the United States based on academic achievement, community service, and leadership. The scholarships can be used to pursue degrees in any undergraduate major at the college or university of the recipients’ choice, and if they so choose, for graduate studies in computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health, or science.