TeenSHARP student awarded a Gates Scholarship

Recent Sussex Central High School grad William Garcia-Garcia is the second Delaware student from the DGTCA program — a partnership between TeenSHARP and the Delaware Department of Education — to receive a Gates Scholarship for 2019.

The first was Mikayla Purnell of the Brandywine School District, is currently a rising sophomore at Swarthmore.

Garcia-Garcia is one of 300 students nationwide selected to receive this year’s award, a “last dollar” scholarship started by the The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2018 to help enable high-potential, low-income minority students. He will receive a full-ride scholarship for the entire cost of attending college, excluding what is already covered by other sources of financial aid. The foundation will also provide access to the resources he may need throughout college.

“There are many students like William in our state, but most are unfamiliar with the vast opportunities that exist for them,” said Kim Lopez, TeenSHARP DGTCA Director. “We are working to level the playing field by giving students access to information and assisting them in this highly confusing process. We have spent time this year in schools such as Glasgow High, Dover High, Polytech, William Penn, Sussex Central High and I have been encouraged by the enthusiasm for pursuing higher education.”

DGTCA, or Delaware Goes to College Academy, is a no-cost program for low-income youth with the goal of gaining admission into four-year colleges on the best financial terms possible. The program includes an in-person four-day boot camp and online support for 500 students across the state.

High school students interested in DGTCA can apply here.