Published: October 10, 2009 01:37 pm      

Bench named Gates scholarship winner

Jamie Bench, a May graduate of Canadian High School, has been awarded a scholarship from the Gates Millennium Scholars Program administered by UNCF in partnership with the American Indian Graduate Center Scholars, the Asian and Pacific American Islander Scholarship Fund and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. Jamie is the daughter of James and Linda Bench.

The scholarships, which are offered to minority students from low-income families can be used at the college or university of the recipients’ choice, and cover tuition and other college expenses from freshman year through graduation. Bench is one of 1,000 students around the country chosen to receive a 2009 GMS scholarship.

The 13,000 Gates Scholars funded since the Program’s inception have attended over 1,500 colleges and universities, including Ivy League colleges, flagship state universities and UNCF member historically black colleges . Gates Millennium Scholars recipients have an average graduation rate of almost 80 percent, higher than the graduation rate for all college students, and higher than the rate for high-income students.