GHS senior gets 1 of 100 Bill Gates scholarships
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on May 5, 2008 1:45 PM
Teddy Howell, salutatorian for his senior class at Goldsboro High School, will go to college courtesy of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Howell is one of 100 recipients of a Gates Millennium Scholarship. More than 13,000 applicants from across the country, as well as Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau, also competed.
The GMS program launched with a $1 billion grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and was designed to reduce financial barriers and to increase the number of minority students completing undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Ranked second in his graduating class, Howell's community service includes reading Spanish to pre-K students at WAGES, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army and several area soup kitchens. He also assisted volunteer coordinators at the 2007 Partnership for Children's Born Learning Festival.
Last summer, he served as a congressional page in Washington, D.C. At Goldsboro High, he has been vice president of the history club, Key Club and was assistant to the chief marshal in his junior year.
Howell plans to attend Winston-Salem State University and major in history and international business. He hopes to transfer to Howard University.
The scholarship award will pay for his tuition,room and board, books, laptops or other required equipment and study abroad programs. It also affords personal, academic, and professional growth opportunities.
"This scholarship means the world to me, knowing paying for college won't be a stress on my mom," Howell said. "I come from a single parent home, and she wants me to go to college but can't afford it. I am still in shock that I got it. "
Howell is the third GMS scholar from Goldsboro High. Last year, Tremaine Rawls earned the scholarship and Hameka Canady received it in 2006.