Freeport High School senior
Heidi Bonilla is among students selected nationwide as a Gates Millennium
Scholar. The scholarships recognize "exceptional
academic and leadership achievements."
The Gates Millennium Scholar program is funded by a grant from Bill and Melinda Gates and administered
for minority scholars by the United
Negro College Fund. The monetary
award covers both undergraduate and graduate studies, plus room, board
and textbooks, and could amount to up to $700,000 for Heidi, who plans
a pre-med course of study at Columbia University.
Her goal to become a cardiologist
dates from sixth grade at Atkinson School, where she conducted independent
research about the human heart and was fascinated by the subject.
"I’m excited and
determined to prove myself to my community and to my fellow students," says
Heidi, who ranks ninth in Freeport High School’s senior class. The new
Gates Scholar wrote no less than eight essays on various topics to earn the
award, and is the second in her family to do so—her brother Lenny,
also a Freeport High School graduate, was a recipient in 2000.
Heidi has attended the Freeport
Public Schools since pre-kindergarten. She is the president of the Freeport
H.S. Key Club, a service organization connected to Kiwanis International.
She is a Peer Leader and Peer Tutor, a member of the National
Honor Society and the National Honor Roll, and has been named to Who’s Who Among America’s
Students. This year, she is taking four high level Advanced Placement classes. |
