By Jennifer Price
Maritza Sanabria will be the first person in her family to go to college, and thanks to The George Washington University, she won’t have to foot the bill.
For more than 20 years, GW has been rewarding outstanding high school students living in the District with full, four-year scholarships. And on March 24, GW handed out nine more Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholarship Awards, worth more than $200,000 each, to some of D.C.’s best and brightest students.
“This is about my favorite day of the year,” said President Steven Knapp. “This is a program we are very committed to. It’s a top priority to show this level of commitment to the District and to the students, who are our neighbors.”
This year’s nine recipients come from eight different high schools: Angela Bonham, Dunbar High School; Yuhana Gidey, Woodrow Wilson Senior High School; Andrew Haynesworth, St. John’s College High School; Nicholas Kelly, School Without Walls Senior High School; Torrin King, Benjamin Banneker Senior High School; Maritza Sanabria, Sidwell Friends School; Metasebia Temesgen, Benjamin Banneker Senior High School; Ikechukwu Umez-Eronini, McKinley Technology High School; and Isaiah West, Ballou Senior High School.
These students plan to major in a variety of fields, including medicine, economics and public policy, marketing, international affairs, psychology and civil and environmental engineering.
Under the pretense of being invited to an academic achievement assembly at Ballou Senior High School in Southeast Washington, D.C., the students gathered in the high school’s gym before President Knapp made the surprise announcement.
Ms. Sanabria, a senior at Sidwell Friends School, said she felt incredibly fortunate to win the scholarship. With her father out of work, “it will relieve my family of economic pressure,” she said.
Ms. Sanabria, who plans to study international affairs, is the president of Sidwell’s Latin American Society and volunteers at Georgetown University Hospital.
“I feel really proud to be part of this group,” she said.
The Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholarship program began in 1989. Formerly the GW 21st Century Scholarships, the awards program was renamed for Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, GW president emeritus and a professor of public service, by the GW Board of Trustees in 1998 to celebrate his 10th anniversary in office. Since the program’s inception, GW has committed more than $16 million to the scholarship program.
“At George Washington, our commitment to being in and of Washington, D.C., dates back not only to the university’s founding in 1821, but to the vision of our namesake who spelled out that commitment in his last will and testament,” said President Knapp. “Our entire community takes pride that we’re the largest single post secondary provider of aid to students graduating from D.C. schools. Over the past 21 years, 116 outstanding D.C. high school graduates have received full four-year scholarships through the Trachtenberg Scholarship Program.”
The scholarship covers tuition, room and board, books and all student fees. The scholarships are renewed annually if the recipient meets GW’s academic requirements. The graduation rate for SJT scholars is close to 90 percent.
“This is a miracle for us,” said Seyoum Gidey, father of scholarship recipient Yuhana Gidey, a senior at Woodrow Wilson High School.
Ms. Gidey is the third person in her family to receive a Trachtenberg scholarship. Her two older siblings are both current GW students.
“The scholarship opens up brand new beginnings,” said Ms. Gidey, who interns at Howard University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology and wants to study psychology.
GW selects students based on their class rank, GPA, SAT scores, teacher recommendations, leadership qualities, community service and extracurricular activities and achievements. The scholarship is open to all D.C. residents graduating from an accredited D.C. high school—public, charter or private—provided the student demonstrates financial need.
“The main thing we’re looking for is a commitment to giving back to D.C. Success in the classroom is a given. But will they be an impact player on campus?” Zakaree Harris, assistant director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. “These students really become our ambassadors. We want to make sure they come here and take advantage of everything we have to offer.”
Andrew Haynesworth, a senior at St. John’s College High School, said receiving the scholarship takes a big load off his shoulders.
He recently was accepted to the White House Mentorship Program and has served as D.C.’s deputy youth mayor of education since 2008.
“Now I can just focus on the next four years instead of worrying about the bills,” said Mr. Haynesworth, who plans to study economics and public policy at GW’s School of Business.