Durham, NC - Eight high school graduates, including three international students, have been named winners of the prestigious University Scholarships at Duke University.

The University Scholars Program was created in 1998 with a gift from former Duke Trustee Melinda French Gates and her husband Bill Gates, through the William H. Gates Foundation. The program is designed to stimulate an interdisciplinary, intergenerational community of scholars.

The value of each scholarship is more than $220,000 over four years and covers tuition, room, board and mandatory fees. The award is given to students who represent a range of personal and intellectual backgrounds and share an excitement for original research, collaborative thinking and innovative scholarship.

For more information about the incoming class of University Scholars, visit the scholarship's website at http://www.duke.edu/web/usp/.

This year's recipients are:

-- Jaachimike Chisom Amalunweze, of Lagos, Nigeria, a graduate of the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales, U.K., and daughter of Gloria Chinyelu Amalunweze;

-- Elena Maria Haag, of Macungie, Pa., a graduate of Emmaus High School in Emmaus, Pa., and daughter of Eileen and Robert Haag;

-- Arun Joseph Karottu, of Maharashtra, India, a graduate of Rajagiri Public School in Kerala, India, and son of Alice Joseph and Joseph KK;

-- Shelly Li, of Omaha, Neb., a graduate of Millard North High School in Omaha, and daughter of Silvia Zhu and James Li;

-- Ngozi Marcia Max-Macarthy, of Brooklyn, N.Y., a graduate of The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J., and daughter of Iris and Adefumie Max-Macarthy;

-- Bailey Elizabeth Ryan, of Chapel Hill, N.C., a graduate of the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham, N.C., and daughter of Amy and Morgan Ryan;

-- Benjamin Matthew Schwab, of Fairport, N.Y., a graduate of Fairport High School, and son of Valerie and Joel Schwab;

-- Jeannie Yim, of Sunnyvale, Calif., a graduate of Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, Calif., and daughter of Myong Ja Yim and Se Kae Yim.