After winning the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship, two SHS seniors won’t pay a penny out of pocket for as long as they choose to continue their studies after high school.

Lian Sian Sang and Mang Khup Ling were awarded this scholarship for outstanding academic performance.

The Gates Millennium Scholarship was funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation to provide African American, Asian Pacific Islander American, Hispanic American and American Indian/Alaska Native students with at least a 3.3 GPA the opportunity to go to college in whatever field they choose to study in. The scholarship includes full tuition, room and board and school supplies to any college or university in the United States. Each year, only 1,000 students are awarded this nation wide scholarship.

“I worked really hard throughout high school and my hard work payed off,” Sang said. “This is one of my biggest accomplishments and I’m very proud.”

Both Sang and Ling had to write eight five hundred-word essays in order to qualify for this scholarship, and, having done so, Ling says he feels blessed knowing that he was chosen to receive such a prestigious scholarship.

EL teacher Amy Peddie was one of the teachers that nominated Sang and Ling and helped them with the application process.

“They worked really hard to get the scholarship and I’m very proud of them,” Peddie said. “They deserve it. They’ve spent many iPasses in my room working on writing their essays for this.”

Sang says he’s very thankful for Peddie recommending him for the scholarship, because if it wasn’t for her, he wouldn’t have even known the opportunity existed.

“She came to me and told me I should apply for this,” Sang said. “She’s fantastic, she’s helped me a lot. She’s one of the reasons I’m able to continue my studies after high school’s over.”