Six seniors at Gwinnett County's Berkmar High School have earned full scholarships as 2013 QuestBridge National College Match Recipients. QuestBridge is a non-profit organization that links high-achieving, low-income students to some of the nation's most selective colleges. The organization partners with colleges that offer financial aid that covers 100 percent of demonstrated financial need. The winners are: Adila Abdulwahid, who plans to attend the University of Chicago; Oscar Chavarria, Bowdoin College; Anthony Downer, The University of Chicago; Lizbeth Peña, Columbia University; Anayelly Medina, Emory University and Alyson Pel, Davidson College. The students' application process began as ninth-graders under the direction of Berkmar Advanced Placement teacher Joni Jameson, who mapped out the students rigorous academic coursework. A key part of a successful candidate's application is earning four or more college credits on AP exams. As juniors, the students began writing essays and gathering teacher evaluations. Berkmar had three Questbridge winners last year.
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Twenty student-artists from Gwinnett County schools are semifinalists in the DREAM@50 Art Competition and now move to the competition’s next level. The student are from Duncan Creek, Ferguson, Jenkins, and Kanoheda elementary schools; Trickum Middle School; GIVE Center East; Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology and Dacula, Duluth, Meadowcreek, Mill Creek, North Gwinnett, Parkview and Shiloh high schools. Winners will be announced Jan. 19.
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Twenty-two students from Elkins Pointe Middle School in Roswell recently attended the 13th annual Latino Leadership Conference at Emory University. The goal of the conference was to increase the educational attainment of Latino students so they can pursue higher education. The Latino Youth Leadership Conference has become the catalyst for Latino youth in Georgia to pursue their educational goals and improve their chances of success. The conference promoted higher education, encouraged cultural awareness and focused on leadership development.
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