April 16, 2002

GW Comes Through for DC’s Finest

GW and “George” Present Nine District High School Seniors With Full Scholarships Valued at $155,000 Each

By Greg Licamele

Anaid Gonzalez was a little worried. The senior at School Without Walls had not received a letter of acceptance to GW. She applied for a Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholarship, interviewed for the award, but heard nothing. For one week, she asked her principal if he knew who won.

Principal Dana Bedden knew, but he wasn’t going to spill the beans.

Instead, as excitement hung in the halls of School Without Walls on a sunny spring morning, Gonzalez got her answer. Her name was called. She was an SJT Scholar and awarded a full, four-year scholarship worth $155,000. The hall erupted in wild applause as tears streamed down her face.

This scene was repeated in five other high schools across the District as nine students were surprised with awards while all of the local television stations captured this monumental moment in their young lives.

“I’m really happy I have this money to pay for college,” says Gareth Edwards, a senior at School Without Walls. Edwards has taken classes at GW, including financial accounting, and when he graduates in June, he will have completed five advanced placement classes. He plans to major in the sciences in college.

Gonzalez, who is valedictorian of her class, arrived in the United States in 1993 unable to speak any English. After one year of classes, she was proficient in the language. Since then, her life has blossomed to the point where she is president of the National Honor Society, a National Hispanic Recognition Scholar, and a member of the swim and tennis teams.

“We must give credit to junior high, middle, and elementary schools because that’s where it starts,” Bedden says. “It starts with parents, too. We didn’t do it by ourselves. Students had to have a good foundation. School Without Walls presented an opportunity for them to excel and do better.”

The other Trachtenberg Scholars are: May-Mei Lee at School Without Walls; Berhanu Feyessa at Bell Multicultural High School; Durriyyah Johnson and Green Miller III at Benjamin Banneker High School; Janet McFadden at Calvin Coolidge High School; Kahina Robinson at the Duke Ellington High School of the Arts; and Christian Washington at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School.

“This year was the most competitive of all the years,” says Sammie Robinson, associate director of admissions. “The academics were very strong and there was a lot of commitment to community service and a lot of leadership.”

Robinson says 45 students were nominated by their high school
counselors. The GW admissions staff and one faculty member review the applications and examine class rank, grade point average, SAT scores, and community involvement. Robinson hopes a full scholarship to GW will help them in choosing a college.

“Of course, they’ll have a lot of choices, but we’re hoping we can persuade them to come to GW,” Robinson says.

The awards program is in its 13th year of providing tuition, books, fees, room, and board. GW’s total commitment since the inception of the program is approximately $8 million. The scholarships, along with other grants and work-study programs, make GW the largest single post-secondary contributor of aid to DC public schools for the last eight years.

“Finances are always an interesting challenge, so this makes it easier for three of our students (at School Without Walls) to have access to higher education,” Bedden says. “The three students that were selected are students we will hear from later in life who do something significant.”

 

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