June 2, 2009

News Release

Two TISD Students Recognized as Gates Millennium Scholars

            Both John Tyler and Robert E. Lee high schools each have the distinct honor of having a Gates Millennium Scholar among their student bodies.  Tyler ISD is proud to announce that Cornelius Burns, from John Tyler High School and Moriah Rivera, from Robert E. Lee High School received the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship, which is awarded to only 1,000 students nationwide.  Texas had 92 winners for 2009.

“The Gates Millennium Scholars Program is educating the nation’s next generation of leaders,” said Margot Tyler, senior program officer at the Gates Foundation.  “It is a national imperative to double the number of students graduating from American colleges.  The Gates Millennium Scholar model, providing students with both financial assistance and academic and leadership mentoring and support, has proven to be an effective way to meet that challenge.”

The scholarship supports the costs of attendance at colleges and universities and can be renewed each year throughout a scholar’s undergraduate degree program.  Additionally, the scholarship can be renewed through graduate school for those continuing scholars who choose one of the six graduate majors as their concentration: education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health, or science.

For the Gates Millennium Scholars application, the students were required to write eight essays on various topics, and have demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular, or other activities.

Gates Millennium Scholars recipients have an average graduation rate of almost 80 percent, higher than the graduation rate for all college students, and higher than the rate for high-income students.

Burns plans to attend the Texas Woman’s University and major in physical therapy. 

Rivera plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin and major in business.

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