NSU Gates Millennium Scholars receive national awards

(Tahlequah, Okla.)--For Northeastern State University alumna Dakota Thompson and current NSU graduate student Michael Bates, the Gates Millennium Scholars Program has been life changing. Each have shown immeasurable gratitude and support to the program and its success, and this year received national honors for their dedication.

The Gates Millennium Scholars Program selects 1,000 students each year to receive a good-through-graduation scholarship to use at the college or university of their choosing, which includes funding for a graduate degree program if in the study of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.

To be eligible for consideration a student must be African American/Black, American Indian - Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, or Hispanic American, be a legal U.S. citizen, have a minimum GPA of 3.3, meet the Federal Pell Grant eligibility criteria, and have demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular or other activities.

Dakota Thompson is an NSU graduate twice over with a B.A. in Mental Health Psychology (2011) and a M.Ed. in School Counseling (2013). A school counselor at Stilwell High School, Thompson was named the 2014 Gates Millennium Scholars Program Outstanding Ambassador. Michael Bates is a 2012 graduate of NSU with a B.S. in Science Education (Biology). He is currently pursuing his M.Ed. in School Administration and was named the 2014 Gates Millennium Scholars Program Outstanding Mentor.

A scholarship recipient in 2007, Thompson has played an integral role in creating a GMS presence on NSUs campus.

At the time I received my scholarship, we had over 30 Scholars on the NSU campus, which is outstanding compared to the numbers on other campuses. Yet the number of professors, administrators, staff members and other personnel who had no idea what the scholarship was and the great honor that comes with being a Gates Scholar blew my mind, said Thompson. I began advocating and met with Dr. Laura Boren to discuss how to move the program forward on NSUs campus.

The GMS has become a way of life for Thompson who now advocates for the program on both the national and the local level. Thompson strongly promotes the GMS Program at her high school, but also hosts workshops for both GMS applicants and recently awarded Gates Scholars in the area.

Her current recognition as Outstanding Ambassador is still unbelievable to Thompson as she was selected from a pool of more than 15,000 alumni members nationwide.

Ive read countless GMS essays and helped students in the northeast Oklahoma region and students from neighboring states with the leadership skills and community service efforts needed to apply. I never think anything of it because I am a very pay-it-forward type of person, said Thompson. Its my belief that as a Gates Scholar it is my duty to impact others and help eligible students apply so they can have the same opportunities that I have been given. GMS is my passion. Education is my passion. Being a Gates Scholar has impacted my life so much to the point where I don't remember who I was before it.

Michael Bates is just one example of Thompsons pay-it-forward efforts. Bates, a Locust Grove native, began his college career at the University of Oklahoma in 2008 before transferring to NSU in 2010. Although he began receiving the scholarship in 2008, it wasn't until his transfer that he really began to get involved with the Gates Millennium Scholarship community.

Thompson and Dr. Allyson Watson, the president of the Gates Millennium Scholarship Alumni Association at the time, approached Bates asking him to actively participate in Thompsons GMS campus-based organization. Through the organization, Bates has been able to attend numerous GMS Leadership conferences as both a mentor and alumni, and he also served in a leadership capacity for the NSU GMS organization from 2011 to 2014. Through this role Bates was able to serve as a GMS Ambassador and organize and host numerous Know Before You Go workshops for high school seniors and GMS recipients.

Being a GMS recipient has impacted my life in so many ways, said Bates. Without this scholarship, the possibility of attending graduate school would have only been a thought in the back of my mind. I have been afforded the opportunity to obtain a college education while remaining debt-free, and my dream of obtaining a graduate degree is becoming a reality thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Bates also attributes his transfer to NSU as one of the main reasons for his numerous academic successes. His experience has included professors always willing to go our of their way to help him succeed, mentors pushing him to be the best he can be, and continual encouragement that he will someday proudly be able to call himself Dr. Michael L. Bates.

NSUs GMS organization currently hosts at least one GMS application workshop every fall on each campus, where seniors, their parents/guardians, and teachers and counselors are invited from more than 20 high schools in the Tahlequah area and in the Broken Arrow/Tulsa region.

I use my affiliation with both GMS and NSU during the application process each year, said Thompson. I am always plugging in NSU whenever I do outreach because I am a proud RiverHawk. We love to conduct our workshops on campus so that high school seniors and parents who join have a chance to see what NSU is all about.

To date, more that 11,170 Gates Scholars have completed a degree since the programs inception in 1999. More than $845,713,056 in scholarships have been awarded since 2000, and the average five-year graduation rate is 82.8 percent and the six-year graduation rate is more than 87.8 percent for Gates Scholars.

For more information about the GMS organization at NSU please contact Dr. Allyson Watson at Leggett@nsuok.eduor 918-449-6591.