Cheldrick Z. Wooding
NSHSS Scholar
Lithonia High School, Class of 2015, Lithonia, GA
Tennessee State University, Class of 2019

Cheldrick Wooding has been selected this year as a Gates Millennium Scholar (GMS). The program offers some of the most prestigious scholarships available in the nation. Cheldrick believes the GMS program provides not only a scholarship, but also an opportunity to change his life. As a GMS, he will have the advantage of attending leadership development programs at no cost and studying abroad with minimal cost.

The Lithonia High School graduate explains that belonging to the GMS program requires great responsibility. The recipients must maintain satisfactory academic progress throughout undergraduate and graduate studies. Also, Gates Millennium Scholars are required to remain involved in leadership and community-building activities. Cheldrick is most impressed by the countless resources afforded to Gates Millennium Scholars, such as the opportunity to utilize mentors who are available to assist scholars who may experience academic difficulty.

As a recipient of the 2015 Gates Millennium Scholarship, Cheldrick explains that he is “truly blessed.” He was selected from a highly-competitive pool of 57,000 applicants nationwide. Cheldrick continues, “Writing those eight, long essays was grueling and exhausting, but the payoff was worth every sweat and tear. I never imagined that I’d be afforded such an amazing opportunity to attend the college of my choice, without financial anxiety. That’s what I call a dream come true.”