Gates Millennium Update
Gates Scholars Profiles: Excellence in Education By Jeannie Baca
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very year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation helps several American Indians fulfill their collegiate promise through highly competitive scholarships. The Gates Millennium Scholarships, administered through the American Indian Graduate Center Scholars, help create opportunities and open academic and professional doors that might not have normally existed or been possible.
Tim Stuart Tim Stuart earned his doctorate in education from Seattle Pacific University as a Gates Millennium Scholar Tim is a member of the High Plains Saponny tribe of North Carolina. Tim has currently been named as Principal at Rehoboth Christian High School in Gallup, Tim Stuart New Mexico. He is a 1991 graduate of Wheaton College in Wheaton Illinois and has held teaching and administrative positions at the Tarsus American School in Turkey and the Leysin American School in Switzerland. At Washington State University, he taught education courses and served as an Associate Director. As a Native, he has an intense interest in education for young American Indians. He is excited about his new role as principal as he and his family look forward to becoming part of the Rehoboth community. “Rehoboth
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Christian School embodies three of my passions in life: faith, culture, and education.” Tim believes that young people are “at promise” rather than “at risk” because they bear the likeness of their Creator, which brings deep hope and optimism for their future. Tim recently co-authored Children at Promise, published by Jossey-Bass, a book that discusses the “P.R.O.M.I.S.E character,” of children. By learning and practicing Perseverance, Responsibility, Optimism, Motivation, Integrity, Service and Engaged play, young people can live fuller lives and better fulfill their potential.
Cassie Chance Cassie Chance, currently a sophomore at Mississippi State University, has embraced the college experience! She is an exceptional student, majoring in Journalism and Media. She supplements her studies by working in the athletic department at the university as a journalist covering athletic events Cassie Chance for the student paper. Cassie is a volunteer and speaker with the Mississippi Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Among other activities, the group organizes summer camps for teens and is actively involved in fundraising events for the Steve Hull Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization.
“The future of our nation’s economy, democracy, and quality of life is dependent upon the preparation of a diverse cadre of leaders who will help build a stronger society.”
The American Indian Graduate
— Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS)