GW awarded nine D.C. public high school seniors full scholarships to attend the University beginning next year.
The Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholarship program has provided full scholarships, including funds for room and board and book expenses, for 93 D.C. public school seniors during the last 18 years. Three of the nine recipients receiving the offer earlier this month, Serena Wong, Kristin Smith and Marcus Hendricks, attend the School Without Walls high school located in the heart of the Foggy Bottom campus on G Street.
"It's a really helpful program," said Smith, who will graduate in the top 10 percent of her class. "It gives good students the opportunity to go to good schools."
Smith's college options include New York University, Boston University and Grinnell College. She is still waiting for a response from Georgetown and Harvard universities. Though she has yet to decide which school she will attend in the fall, Smith said the full scholarship was hard to ignore.
"I don't know yet what school I'll be attending - I'm still thinking," Smith said. "Anybody's dream school would be Harvard, but it's a tough choice."
Wong said she had to overcome obstacles in order to become the high-achiever she is today.
"I'm the first person in my family to attend college," Wong said. "We don't speak English at home, so since elementary school, it's been really hard to acclimate to the culture."
Wong, who is captain of her varsity lacrosse team and student body president, said her college choices include Columbia, Rice and Tufts universities. Despite these options, she said she will likely attend GW next fall because of the scholarship.
Like Wong and Smith, Hendricks has an impressive resume. He is chapter president of the National Society of Black Engineers and student body vice president. The ambitious senior is also a member of the varsity baseball team and formerly served as a congressional aide to D.C.'s House Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
The Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholarship program has provided full scholarships, including funds for room and board and book expenses, for 93 D.C. public school seniors during the last 18 years. Three of the nine recipients receiving the offer earlier this month, Serena Wong, Kristin Smith and Marcus Hendricks, attend the School Without Walls high school located in the heart of the Foggy Bottom campus on G Street.
"It's a really helpful program," said Smith, who will graduate in the top 10 percent of her class. "It gives good students the opportunity to go to good schools."
Smith's college options include New York University, Boston University and Grinnell College. She is still waiting for a response from Georgetown and Harvard universities. Though she has yet to decide which school she will attend in the fall, Smith said the full scholarship was hard to ignore.
"I don't know yet what school I'll be attending - I'm still thinking," Smith said. "Anybody's dream school would be Harvard, but it's a tough choice."
Wong said she had to overcome obstacles in order to become the high-achiever she is today.
"I'm the first person in my family to attend college," Wong said. "We don't speak English at home, so since elementary school, it's been really hard to acclimate to the culture."
Wong, who is captain of her varsity lacrosse team and student body president, said her college choices include Columbia, Rice and Tufts universities. Despite these options, she said she will likely attend GW next fall because of the scholarship.
Like Wong and Smith, Hendricks has an impressive resume. He is chapter president of the National Society of Black Engineers and student body vice president. The ambitious senior is also a member of the varsity baseball team and formerly served as a congressional aide to D.C.'s House Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
