Ten high school graduates, including one international student, have been named winners of the prestigious University Scholarships at Duke University.
The University Scholars Program was created in 1998 with a gift from Duke alumna 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 full value of each scholarship is estimated to be more than $220,000 over four years and covers full tuition, room, board and mandatory fees. The award is given to financially deserving students who represent a range of personal and intellectual backgrounds and share an excitement for original research, collaborative thinking and innovative scholarship.
This year's recipients are:
-- Nourhan M. Elsayed, of St. Petersburg, Fla., a graduate of St. Petersburg High School in St. Petersburg, Fla., and daughter of Mohamed Elsayed.
-- Callie Lynn Gable, of Cambridge, Ohio, a graduate of Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Ohio, and daughter of Cindy and Kirk Gable.
-- Won-Ji Lee, of Poway, Calif., a graduate of Poway High School in Poway, Calif., and son of Sung-Joo and Eul-Sung Lee.
-- Adhar Maheshwari, of New Delhi, India, a graduate of Sanskriti School in New Delhi, India.
-- Julia Mikhailova, of Lakewood, Colo., a graduate of Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Colo., and daughter of Olga Mikhailova.
-- Wanyi Wen Ng, of Flagstaff, Ariz., a graduate of Flagstaff High School in Flagstaff, Ariz., and daughter of Mui-Joo Wee and Pin Ng.
-- Connor James Tinen, of Wildwood Mo., a graduate of Eureka High School in Eureka, Mo., and son of Carol and Christopher Tinen.
-- Ezgi Ustundag, of Ames, Iowa, a graduate of Ames High School in Ames, Iowa, and daughter of Tuba Geredelioglu and Ersan Ustundag.
-- Michaela Jane Walker, of Quincy, Mass., a graduate of Quincy High School in Quincy, Mass., and daughter of Angela and Anthony Walker.
-- Felix Xiao, of Euless, Texas, a graduate of Colleyville Heritage High School in Colleyville, Texas, and son of Baojie Zhang and Enjun Xiao.
For more information about the incoming class of University Scholars, visit the scholarship's website at http://www.duke.edu/web/usp/.