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Huntington Beach Union High School District

Ocean View High senior, Nick Romo, one of three HBUHSD students named Gates Millennium Scholar

Article courtesy of the Orange County Register - "Service close to home for Ocean View High student Nick Romo"
 
After successfully completing the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program’s (GMSP) rigorous application process, Nick will be granted with an opportunity many students can only dream of – the full cost of his undergraduate and graduate college tuition, room, and board paid for in its entirety.  As if this weren’t enough, Nick will also have the same fully-paid compensation for graduate school, should he choose to purse a degree beyond his Bachelors.   

On the Ocean View campus, Nick is an International Baccalaureate (IB) student, member of the Business Academy (BA), National Honor Society (NHS) participant, cross country and track athlete, math tutor, Co-President of the school’s youth Rotary Club, and this year’s homecoming king. 

After learning about the scholarship opportunity from the school’s Business Academy Coordinator, Roger Keating, Nick jumped on the opportunity.  In addition to an online and in-depth application process, Nick had to submit a total of eight application essays, all discussing various topics.  With his hard work, came great reward as now Nick can use his scholarship to attend either Chapman University in Orange, CA or Fordham University in Bronx, NY.  He plans on majoring in business.     

"Nick Romo is one of those rare students who combines effective leadership, excellent academics, and an incredible spirit of community giving at a level not usually seen in a high school student,” said Roger Keating, the Business Academy Coordinator at OVHS.  “I cannot think of a student more deserving than Nick to receive this prestigious award.”      

Funded by a $1.6 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gates Millennium Scholarship program was created in an effort to provide greater access and opportunity to higher education for outstanding students from underrepresented backgrounds.  Each year, the program selects 1,000 students from across the nation to bestow this ample award upon.  To be eligible for this scholarship, students must fit the following criteria:

  • Minimum GPA – 3.3
  • Ethnicity – African American, American Indian-Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, or Hispanic American
  • Residency – U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident, or Foreign National
  • Academic Classification – High school senior, GED recipient, or high school graduate entering an accredited college for the first time
  • Financial need – Must meet Pell Grant eligibility criteria

Since its launch in 1999, the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program has awarded over 17,000 scholars with more than $845,713,056 in scholarship money.  Now Nick, as well as two other Huntington Beach Union High School District students will join that list of prestigious, hardworking scholars.   

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