The scholarship offers a full ride throughout both undergraduate and graduate degrees and, depending on the scholar’s major it may even cover tuition for a doctorate degree.
This year, the program had its largest batch of applicants: 23,000. From this, only 1000 students were granted this tremendous opportunity including Saipan’s very own Samantha Birmingham-Babauta.
Although the 17-year-old spent most of her high school career at Saipan Southern High School, she graduated from Marianas High School this past Saturday.
Birmingham-Babauta discusses the application process.
“For the first part, there are six or seven essay questions that you answer online. That part was kind of easy since the questions are all about you, for example, ‘What subject did you excel in and why do you think that is?’ ”
She goes on to explain how applicants must have a nominator and a recommender from their school fill out special packets that are roughly two pages long.
If an applicant is chosen to become a finalist, the next step is to send in transcripts, positions held in school, clubs participated in, and community services engaged in.
From there the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program Council determines whether or not an applicant becomes a Scholar.
For the second part of the application process, Birmingham-Babauta was able to list down “lots of events for Beautify CNMI, the Zumba charity event for Japan relief held at Gold’s gym, and internships at NMC-CREES for two years. I was captain of the soccer team one year and I paddled for one year. At SSHS, I was vice president for the Student Council and president of the Nursing Club,” she highlights a few of the activities she was a part of.
When asked how she reacted when she found out she received the scholarship, she says, “I was freaking out. I cried. I was really excited.” She continues, “It’s funny though because I actually found out through my teacher congratulating me on Facebook.”
Birmingham-Babauta is currently working as a Zumba and spin instructor at Gold’s Gym.
She plans to pursue a degree in exercise science.
She will start out her first year of college at the University of Guam. From there, the scholar hopes to transfer to the University of California at Berkeley which U.S. News ranks in as number 22 of the top 100 schools in America.
“I want to become an exercise physiologist and maybe come back to Saipan and create a federally funded diabetes fitness program,” she tells Variety.
In September, she will attend the GMS Conference in Los Angeles, California where she will meet the rest of the Gates Millennium scholars and most likely see Bill Gates, in the flesh.
There are many opportunities for the students of the CNMI to achieve higher education. It is monumentally important that they begin looking for options and start planning early.
