Chisum High School Senior, Randa Som, has been chosen to receive the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship. He is one of 1,000 students across the nation to receive this scholarship. The Gates Millennium Scholarship was founded by Bill Gates, Sr. and his wife, Melinda Gates. As a Gates Millennium Scholar, Randa will receive a full scholarship to attend any U. S. college or university of his choice. This scholarship is renewable throughout his undergraduate studies, and he may be eligible for fellowship funding through master’s and doctoral levels as well.
Chisum Senior Randa Som
“I am very honored to receive such a coveted scholarship. First, I would like to personally thank Mr. Bill Gates and Mrs. Melinda Gates for the endless opportunities this scholarship will open for me. I would also like to personally acknowledge the following teachers and my counselor for their generosity in nominating and recommending me for the scholarship and colleges: Mrs. Sherri Gribble, Mrs. Pamela Stotts, Mr. James VanDeaver, Mrs. Kim Smith, Mr. Jack Brown, and Mrs. Amy Johnson, Counselor. I highly respect their golden standard in teaching, in which they have prepared me to become a scholar in a competitive, global society. With their help, I am proud to have gained acceptance to many of the nation’s most recognized universities, including some Ivy League colleges.”
Sherri Gribble had this to say about Randa, “I was so excited and proud to hear that Randa had won this muc- coveted scholarship! Randa is a dedicated student who gives 100% in all he does. Along with maintaining top grades, he spends time volunteering at the hospital and takes on many leadership roles including Vice President of the Beta Club that I work with. I know that Randa will accomplish whatever he sets his mind to.”
The GMS program also provides other resources to its scholars including the GMS Freshmen Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C, Academic Empowerment services (ACE) to support academic success, graduate school planning, and a mentoring program.
Randa has been accepted to many prestigious colleges and universities across the nation. His top choice schools include the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), Boston College, Brown University, Cornell University, Rice University, Emory University, Duke University, University of California, Los Angeles, Texas A&M University Honors-College Station, and the University of Texas-Austin. In college, Randa plans to pursue a major in biology and participate in undergraduate research, specifically in biochemistry and molecular biology. After undergraduate matriculation Randa plans to further his studies in medical school, and ultimately specialize to become a cardiologist.