Two Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students were awarded The Gates Scholarship for the Spring 2023 cycle.
Trenton Noel of Little Rock and Jaden Williams of Fort Smith, both members of the Class of 2023, were award the scholarship which is sponsored by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Scholarship is a highly selective, last-dollar scholarship for outstanding minority high school seniors from low-income households.
Scholars will receive funding for the full cost of attendance — including tuition, fees, room, board, books and transportation — that is not already covered by other financial aid and the expected family contribution as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the methodology used by the scholar’s college or university.
Noel said he was going to originally apply for the QuestBridge program, which matches low-income students with prestigious colleges and universities across the country. He chose to apply for The Gates Scholarship instead.
“I didn’t want to be bound to a school I wasn’t excited about. A part of me wanted to attend school in a big city, especially a (Historically Black College or University),” Noel said.
Receiving The Gates Scholarship allowed him to pursue that dream by earning acceptance to Howard University in Washington, D.C., where Noel will enroll in the fall.
“Without The Gates Scholarship, I would have pursued a full-ride opportunity at a college that was nowhere near my first choice,” he said.
Noel said he found out that he had been chosen for the scholarship on the evening of April 20. “I will never forget the way my friends and I screamed because they all knew what this scholarship would mean for my future. I was up all night calling each and every family member. Listening to their tears of joy made me realize what I had accomplished.”
Williams said he learned about The Gates Scholarship on TikTok where his feed was focused on scholarships.
“I always receive TikToks from my mom that talk about the different sorts of scholarships, and it typically consists of criteria and rewards. I decided to apply for it when I started asking staff members about it and they were encouraging to the idea,” he said.
This fall, Williams will be attending Johns Hopkins University. He had already been accepted to the school through an early-decision process. The scholarship didn’t influence where he chose to go, but it was an important development in his pre-college career.
“Receiving this scholarship is a big deal for me because it essentially covers everything. I never wanted to place a burden upon my family on undergraduate school. This scholarship ensured my family that we wouldn’t have to stress about the costs of school,” Williams said.
Williams received the news about the scholarship at the same time as Noel on April 20. He was with a couple of friends during study hours.
“I was telling them how nervous I was because it was storming and I believed that to be a sign of bad luck. They were ensuring me that I was going to get it. So I finally opened my application portal where it stated ‘Start Acceptance,’ and I was so nervous that I was so confused. Then an email popped up saying, ‘Congratulations! You have been selected as a Gates Scholar!’” he said.
He and his friends began screaming, jumping and hugging each other. He immediately called his parents, who also began screaming and crying when he shared the news. Then he started receiving phone calls from various family members after his parents shared the news.
When he found out Noel had received the scholarship as well, he ran to Noel’s room to celebrate.
The Gates Scholarship was another example of hard work and research paying off for Williams. In total he received $4.86 million in scholarship offers from 39 institutions. He had already been offered $90,000 a year at Johns Hopkins University. The offer included a work-study requirement for additional costs which The Gates Scholarship will now cover.
“Hopkins was my dream institution, ranking number one in the world for Public Health, which is one of my intended majors, the other being neuroscience. Also, the extensive amount of grants outside of what they already covered (which they) offered me to study abroad with all expenses paid really made my choice clear that this is where I belonged,” he said.
All of the scholarship and grant opportunities offered to him reflect the recognition for his dedication, hard work and abilities, Williams said. He scoured numerous scholarship databases and websites searching for opportunities, narrowing down his choices and identifying universities that aligned with his academic goals and inspirations during the summer of 2022 and his senior year. Many of them will provide opportunities for personal and intellectual growth, open doors to new experiences and foster connections with mentors and like-minded individuals.
“I’ve been blessed with countless opportunities I’ve been presented with,” Williams said.