Zahara Jones '11 Named Gates Millennium Scholar

Zahara Jones '11, a graduating senior at Saint Elizabeth High School, has received a 2011 Gates Millennium Scholarship.  This program, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates in 1999, selects 1,000 talented minority students across the country each year to receive good-through-graduation scholarships.  If the students maintain their academic standing and participate in the GMS Leadership Development Program, they are also eligible to receive full funding for graduate school.  A major goal of the program is to increase the representation of targeted minority groups in areas where they are severely underrepresented, especially the sciences, math, and education.

Asked what advice she would have for another student just beginning high school, Zahara said, "It's important to stay focused.  Don't be discouraged.  There are a lot of different things that can throw you off.  Continue to try, even if you're not too sure of how it's going to turn out.  Put forth your best effort."

Most of all, Zahara is happy that the scholarship will relieve a burden for her mother.  "Now, she doesn't have to worry."