Newport News Public Schools senior Aaron Lin named Gates Scholar
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A senior at Woodside High School in Newport News has been named a 2024 Gates Scholar by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Aaron Lin, who’ll be attending Yale University in the fall, is the valedictorian at Woodside and is the student representative to the Newport News School Board. He’ll be the first in his family to go to college.
Lin’s one of just 300 students nationwide to receive the Gates Scholarship, “a highly selective, last-dollar scholarship for outstanding, minority, high school seniors from low-income households.”
“Getting the Gates scholarship is like saying you did something,” Lin said. “You achieved something in your community, it represents that you’re a leader in your community and they want to support that leadership in college. I think that’s one of the very impactful things is they want to continue to foster your leadership skills.”
Lin’s family has run an Asian food restaurant in the city since 2010 after emigrating from China, and he’s worked there after school and on the weekends since childhood.
Lin says the scholarship will thankfully help him not have to get a part-time job in college to get by.
“When I found out, I was really shocked,” Lin said. “It still feels surreal to think that you get your four years of college paid for. You don’t have to have the burden of financial on your parents and your family. It opens a pathway for opportunities to explore.”
That includes helping at program in under-resourced communities, like the nonprofit music education organiation Soundscapes in Newport News. Lin worked there last summer.
“I think that’s really important since nonprofit work ties into the educational aspects and I want to help find solutions to help solve limited educational opportunities.”
Lin also credited the help he received from the teachers and staff from Newport News Public Schools over the years.
“I was a part of Newport News Public Schools all my life,” Lin said. “NNPS provides a lot of opportunities for students to grow. We have so many resources from free Advanced Placement exams, free resources, free counseling and so many after school extra-curricular activities, counselors, teachers around us to really help us grow.”
You can read more about the Gates Scholarship here.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
