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Can
Money Buy a Career?
Gates
Foundation Announces Scholarship Fund
Oakland, September 23,
1999 -- Recently, Bill Gates,
co-founder and CEO of Microsoft, announced a $1 billion fund to provide college and
graduate school scholarships to minority students interested in earning technical degrees.
Mr. Gates, the wealthiest man in the world, has suggested that there are plenty of high
tech jobs, but not enough people of color prepared to take them. William Gray, executive director of the United Negro
College Fund (UNCF), will administer the Gates Minority Scholars Program, working
with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the American Indian College Fund. The fund will pay
college and graduate school costs for 1,000 students per year for the next 20 years.
We applaud Mr. Gates’ generosity and
willingness to work with the UNCF to identify worthy scholarship candidates. One billion
dollars will certainly serve the educational needs of thousands of African-American
students if we step to the plate and take a swing...
Who Should Invest in
Your Child's Education?
We have noticed
that many of our children will not borrow money to pay tuition for their higher education
for fear that they will be indebted beyond their income potential. Worse still, we have
found that many parents discourage their children from borrowing for school. In order to
qualify for the Gates Foundation scholarship, a student must show some initiative to pay
for their tuition through other scholarships, grants, loans, work, etc. Bill Gates is not
giving a handout, he’s giving an incentive to those willing to prove themselves
worthy.
Will access to funds make techies out of non-techies? No. It is
our job to identify gifted children when they are young:
 | Tell them how wonderful
they are because of their brilliance |
| Expose them to new ways of
thinking and being |
| Support them when they
challenge convention |
| Take them to
African-American bookstores and readings by African-American authors |
| Reward good grades |
| Encourage curiosity |
| And make sure their
guidance counselors are working in their best interests when it comes to creating
connections with college recruiters. |
Finally, befriend a
teacher. Teachers are neither paid well nor appreciated. Yet, they are gratified when they
see their students excel. Teachers are also inspired when the parent is involved in the
learning process. Salaries don’t keep good teachers in the classroom. If you have a
child in school, visit your child’s teacher. Tell him or her what you want for your
child and tell them how much you appreciate them. A good education begins with parental
involvement and ends with a young person's desire to be all they can be.
An excellent mind
will be educated, some how, some way. We’re glad the Gates Foundation is helping make
another way for those with the will and the desire.
The program will
launch next year for college sophomores, juniors and seniors. The following year, the
program will be open to high school students with at least a 3.3 grade point average who
submit nominations from teachers or principals and complete a 500-word essay.
For more information, contact
Gates
Minority Scholars Program
http://www.gmsp.org
United Negro
College Fund
http://www.uncf.org |
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