Four students from the Public Schools of Robeson County who were named Gates Millennium Scholars. Jacob Kerns and Jeremy Wesley Lowery are graduates from Lumberton High. Katelynn Jacobs from Purnell Swett and Aaron Epps from Fairmont High are the other recipients. Epps plans to become a lawyer with the United States Air Force. He says news of the scholarship is life changing.
“I screamed and cried. It was the best day of my life,” Epps said.
For Jeremy Lowery, the scholarship will also give him a full ride to East Carolina University as he pursues his dream of being a psychiatrist. Lowery said that one trip to the mailbox was an answer to his prayers.
“I pulled the envelope out to investigate and I saw a Gates Millennium emblem and I was overcome with joy,” Lowery said.
In May, the Gates Millennium Scholars Program announced the 1,000 Class of 2014 Gates Millennium Scholars. Each of the students will be awarded a good-through-graduation scholarship that can be used to pursue a degree in any undergraduate and graduate major at the accredited college or university of his or her choice.
Established in 1999 with the goal of developing leaders for america’s future, the Gates Millennium Scholars Program is funded by a $1.6 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Gates Millennium scholarship is one of hundreds that PSRC students received this year for college. Graduates at Purnell Swett High School and Fairmont High School received almost $1 million in scholarships at each school.
