Two 2023 grads named Gates Scholars

Trenton Noel (’23) and Jaden Williams (’23) were awarded The Gates Scholarship for the Spring 2023 cycle.

The scholarship is sponsored by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Gates Scholarship is a highly selective, last-dollar scholarship for outstanding minority high school seniors from low-income households.

Scholars receive funding for the full cost of attendance — including tuition, fees, room, board, books, and transportation — that is not already covered by other financial aid and the expected family contribution as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the methodology used by the scholar’s college or university.

Noel said he was going to originally apply for the QuestBridge program, which matches lowincome students with prestigious colleges and universities across the country. He chose to apply for The Gates Scholarship instead.

“I didn’t want to be bound to a school I wasn’t excited about. A part of me wanted to attend school in a big city, especially a (Historically Black College or University),” Noel said.

Receiving The Gates Scholarship allowed him to pursue that dream by earning acceptance to Howard University in Washington, D.C., where Noel will enroll in the fall.

“Without The Gates Scholarship, I would have pursued a full-ride opportunity at a college that was nowhere near my first choice,” he said.

Noel recalled the night in April when he received notification that he had been awarded the scholarship.

“I will never forget the way my friends and I screamed because they all knew what this scholarship would mean for my future. I was up all night calling each and every family member. Listening to their tears of joy made me realize what I had accomplished.”

Williams said he learned about The Gates Scholarship on TikTok where his feed was focused on scholarships.

“I always receive TikToks from my Mom that talk about the different sorts of scholarships, and it typically consists of criteria and rewards. I decided to apply for it when I started asking staff members about it and they were encouraging to the idea,” he said.

This fall, Williams will attend Johns Hopkins University. He had already been accepted to the school through an early-decision process. While the scholarship didn’t influence where he chose to go, it was an important development in his pre-college career.

“Receiving this scholarship is a big deal for me because it essentially covers everything. I never wanted to place a burden upon my family on undergraduate school. This scholarship ensured my family that we wouldn’t have to stress about the costs of school,” Williams said.

Williams received the news about the scholarship on the same evening as Noel. He was with a couple of friends during study hours.

“I was telling them how nervous I was because it was storming and I believed that to be a sign of bad luck. They were assuring me that I was going to get it. So I finally opened my application portal where it stated ‘Start Acceptance,’ and I was so nervous that I was so confused. Then an email popped up saying, ‘Congratulations! You have been selected as a Gates Scholar!’” he said.

He and his friends began screaming, jumping, and hugging each other.

He immediately called his parents, who also began screaming and crying when he shared the news.

Then he started receiving phone calls from various family members after his parents shared the news.

When he found out Noel had received the scholarship as well, he ran to Noel’s room to celebrate.

The Gates Scholarship was another example of hard work and research paying off for Williams. In total, he received $4.86 million in scholarship offers from 39 institutions. He had already been offered $90,000 a year at Johns Hopkins University.

The offer included a work-study requirement for additional costs, which The Gates Scholarship will now cover.

“Hopkins was my dream institution, ranking number one in the world for Public Health, which is one of my intended majors, the other being neuroscience. Also, the extensive amount of grants outside of what they already covered (which they) offered me to study abroad with all expenses paid really made my choice clear that this is where I belonged,” he said.

All of the scholarship and grant opportunities offered to him reflect the recognition for his dedication, hard work, and abilities, Williams said.

He scoured numerous scholarship databases and websites searching for opportunities, narrowing down his choices and identifying universities that aligned with his academic goals and inspirations during the summer of 2022 and his senior year.

Many of them will provide opportunities for personal and intellectual growth, open doors to new experiences and foster connections with mentors and likeminded individuals.

“I’ve been blessed with countless opportunities I’ve been presented with,” Williams said.

Debate team earns charter status with National Speech and Debate Association

ASMSA has been designated as a charter member of the National Speech and Debate Association.

The achievement is the highest honor the organization offers. Schools earn the designation in the organization’s Honor Society through outstanding participation over the past three years by students and educators in activities such as speech and debate competition, community service, and leadership activities.

“This team was started by students over a year and a half ago,” said Tonya Reck, ASMSA’s debate instructor and coach of the Debate Team. “Starting new endeavors is always a challenge, and this has been an adventure. Our charter member status was achieved by every student who was brave enough to walk through the door, willing to take an academic risk, sign up for a debate tournament, and pour in hours of research.

“It’s been the students willing to take the wins with the losses because no one wins everything all the time. It’s been the students who come back, again and again, to be better and better. Charter member status shows that we are growing as a new team. We are growing in our numbers, our participation, and our achievements. It shows that this is a team the students have built from the ground up. I’m so honored to be on their team.”

ASMSA was among 22 schools nationwide to earn charter status this year. The National Speech and Debate Association is the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization serving middle school, high school, and collegiate students in the United States. It provides competitive speech and debate activities, high-quality resources, comprehensive training, scholarship opportunities, and advanced recognition to more than 140,000 students and coaches every year.