** IAF Student Awarded 2016 Gates Millennium Scholarship **

Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Contact: Ms. Amy Wesley
Email: awesley@sabis.net

For Immediate Release

 

Zakeria Nelson, a student at the International Academy of Flint (IAF), a SABIS^® U.S. public charter school located in Flint, Michigan, was recently named as a recipient of a Gates Millennium Scholarship, awarding her a full scholarship to any college or university of her choice.

Established in 1999, the Gates Millennium Scholarship is designed to encourage academic excellence and provide an opportunity for outstanding minority students with significant financial need to reach their highest potential. Since 1999, the foundation has awarded over $1.6 billion in scholarships.

To qualify for the scholarship, all applicants had to have a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.3 out of 4.0 and complete an application that included letters of recommendation, nominations, and multiple essay questions. Additionally, applicants had to demonstrate their leadership abilities through participation in community service. In total 53,000 students applied for the scholarship in 2016, and 1,000 students (1.8% of applicants) were named as recipients.

Zakeria enrolled at IAF in Kindergarten and has been a model student. She has a GPA of 3.7 and was very actively involved in the SABIS Student Life Organization^® (SLO^®) at IAF, participating in a variety of food distribution and collection activities, Shadow Teaching^®, peer tutoring, a book bag drive, blood drive, breast cancer awareness activities, and more.

Upon hearing the news, Zakeria was extremely pleased. “This is so amazing! I was so stressed about how we were going to get the money to pay for college. I think what helped me is that I did tons of volunteer hours in the community through SLO^®. I have a 3.7 and I had a 25 on my ACT, which is great, but I think my involvement in the community really helped me stand out.”

The entire IAF community is extremely proud of Zakeria, who is planning to attend Kettering University in the fall to pursue an engineering degree. “Since Zakeria joined IAF, I have watched her grow and I’m not surprised by her success,” explained Ms. Kendra Giles, IAF School Director. “She is a very driven young lady and winning this scholarship is just the beginning of many great things to come for her.”

For more information about IAF, visit iaf-sabis.net. For more information about SABIS^®, visit sabis.net.

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