Gates Millennium Scholars
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 Gates Millenium logo

The Gates Millennium Scholars Program is a $1 billion initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to promote academic excellence and increase the number of underrepresented students enrolling in and completing undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Gates Millennium Scholars are chosen for their academic excellence and their promise to assume roles as leaders in their professions and in the community. We are honored that these scholars have chosen to pursue their educational goals at Arizona State University.

Become part of our fast growing ASU Gates Millennium Scholars Organization (GMSO). GMSO is a community of Gates Scholars aspiring to leadership, mentorship and professional development. GMSO promotes diversity and inclusivity as defined by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. We encourage you to attend GMSO meetings, get to know other Gates scholars and share your ideas on how we can make your education a more rewarding experience.


 Gates Millenium Scholars 2009-2010

ASU Gates Millennium Scholars' Annual Reception 2009-2010, an opportunity to recognize
and celebrate GMS for their high scholastic achievement.

More than 13,000 Gates Millennium Scholars have been funded nationwide since the inception of the program. Nearly 80% of GM Scholars complete graduation in five years. GM scholars are enrolled in more than 1,500 colleges and universities across the 50 states and five outlying areas.

Gates Millennium Scholars at ASU have received 43 Bachelors degrees, and five of the 43 continued on to receive second undergraduate ASU degrees; 8 of the 43 continued on into ASU graduate degree programs. Eleven Gates Millennium Scholars have been awarded ASU doctoral degrees. We currently have 8 Gates Millennium Scholars in Barrett, the Honors College. Sixty-two Gates Millennium Scholars are enrolled at ASU as of fall 2009, and the numbers increase yearly.

2009-2010 Executive Officers

President

Vice President

Heather Stifanos
Barrett the Honors College
College of Design
Pre-Graphic Design
Joshua Smith
Barrett the Honors College
Civil Engineering

Public Relations Secretary

Recording Secretary

Aleron Toledo
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Psychology

Amber Williams
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Speech and Hearing Sciences

Historian

 
Jennifer E. Duran
W.P. Carey School of Business
Business Exploratory
 

Meet Some Gates Millennium Scholars

Kenneth Shurley is a doctoral student in Educational Technology with ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton College of Education. Kenneth is Navajo, raised in Window Rock, Arizona. In addition to his Gates Millennium Scholarship, he also received the Navajo Nation’s Chief Manuelito Scholarship, and recently completed a one-year internship at the ASU’s College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation as a Research Aide.

“After I attain my Ph. D. degree, I plan to return back to the Navajo Nation to assist and educate the Navajo people on educational technology applications to support learning,” says Kenneth. “The mixture of education and technology is still quite innovative to the Navajo people. My goal is to use my degree to ease the transition between the two and to show the Navajo people the sky’s the limit when it comes to technology and education.”
Kenneth Shurley


From left to right:
Lindsay Belone, Social Work, College of Public Programs
Maria Pettigrew, Family and Human Development, College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Marianna Martin, Global Business/Leadership Management,
School of Global Management/Leadership

Craig Bailey
Construction
Ira J. Fulton School of Engineering

Find more information on the ASU Gates Millennium Scholars Program and the American Indian community in The American Indian Graduate magazine at graduate.asu.edu/files/pdfs/AIGarticle.pdf. Former GMSO co-chairs Kenneth Shirley and Monica Joe are featured, as well as other high-achievers in the American Indian community.

For more information about the ASU Gates Millennium Scholars Program, please contact the GMSO President Heather Stifanos at hstifano@asu.edu or Graduate College staff: Debra Crusoe, debra.crusoe@asu.edu or Jennifer Cason, jennifer.cason@asu.edu.