ACE WINNER #10.

A few years ago, a good friend of mine told me he had started a scholarship for students from his home state of Mississippi who were attending his alma mater, the University of Virginia. Right away, I thought of my late father Ace. Maybe I could honor him somehow. Now 10 years later, I am proud to say we have a 10th winner of The Ace, Sophia Moore. Her words make me smile.

"I am excited to know that I am the 10th winner of the Ace Scholarship! I am currently studying Elementary Education (K-6) with an endorsement in SocialStudies (5-8) at Concordia University, Saint Paul. I always dreamt of becoming a teacher and I am happy to say that I am on the right track to do so! I love to instruct, guide, and lead others andI also have a passion for teaching others. I want to create a safe space for students and their families and I want them to know that I am their number one support system. I love helping people but I don’t like the rush in hospitals so I decided to enter the education field! This scholarship and many others have helped me throughout my freshman year and because of these scholarships, almost 95% of my tuition for freshman year is paid for!"

Ace winner #9.

Happy to announce that The ACE Scholarship has been awarded for the 9th year. The winner is Naw Grace Wah of St. Paul.

Naw sent this nice note of thanks. She is a freshman at Concordia in St. Paul:

"First of all I want to thank you for the scholarship and your support, if it wasn't because of you, my tuition might have been too much. I just want to tell you that I'm really grateful for this. Moreover, I'm doing pretty well here at Concordia. I might get stuck sometimes but the teachers here are very nice to me. They always have answers for my questions and that's why last semester, I passed through all my courses smoothly. For this Spring, I will take 14 credits and my courses are Theology, Art, History, and English. My major is Education with a focus on K-3."

Can't wait to see what you do next, Naw. Best of luck.

Mai headed west.

The 8th Ace winner has arrived. Mai Xee Lee from Highland Park. Mai is headed to Stanford in the Fall. Congrats, Mai. Make a difference. I know you will. Here's an excerpt from her Ace application:

"When I look at my parents, I see their younger selves: the ones who never got the chance

to get an education because they had to raise a family. Every day, I see them struggle because of their lack of English. At only 23 years old, they picked up their life in Thailand and moved my family to the United States to ensure that their five children would get an education.

While I never had the pleasures of private tutors and expensive summer camps - simply

because my family could not afford it - my parents ensured I participated in free activities that would support my growth and limit the impact of the opportunity and achievement gaps. 

Every summer in elementary school, I attended the free programming provided by my school district, taking core classes to ensure that I would not lose my skills. As soon as I began middle school, I applied for summer opportunities that would help prepare me for college and once I hit high school, my calendar was filled with meetings of all the different programs that I had become involved in. My life became surrounded by enriching activities and relationships. I’ve worked countless hours, cleaning bathrooms in a recreational center or interning at the Ramsey County Courthouse with the deputy criminal justice attorney. I have also devoted time to programs such as Breakthrough Twin Cities, Saint Paul Youth Commission, Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, and Warrior Leadership Academy.

I want to become an educator to combine my leadership skills and desire to help students,

to close the opportunity and achievement gap for students who come from similar background as mine. I have received all of my education through the Saint Paul Public Schools district. My enjoyment of school began when I was in Pre-Kindergarten at Jackson Elementary. I had two Hmong female teachers who inspired and motivated me to learn. As a five year old, it excited me that my teachers looked like me because I saw that if they could succeed, then so could I. However, all of my teachers for the next 13 years would be white. Teachers of color help foster connections and comfortability with students of color. These are aspects that I was missing from my relationships with my white teachers and is one of the many reasons why it is important that there are more teachers of color as it will not only be beneficial to students of color but white students as well.

I hope to be one of those future educators of color and benefit students on their path to

higher education by ensuring that they receive opportunities that will allow them to strive for

their versions of greatness, ultimately closing the opportunity and achievement gap one student at a time. Despite my adversities as a low income first generation Hmong woman, I have overcome every challenge. I will empower youth to conquer their obstacles as I did mine."

Kennedy update.

Kennedy Xiong won the ACE in 2015 and headed off to the University of Minnesota. Here's an update from him. Nothing like travel to open your mind to all that's possible. Be well, Kennedy. Do great things. 

"I am currently extending my undergraduate time an additional year so that I could study abroad; I am studying in Tokyo, Japan. So far it has been a blast and I am learning so many new things! The differences in culture and way of life has been truly eye opening. I have definitely become more humble and appreciative of the things that I have. I am truly glad that I made the decision to study abroad. I am also currently working as a part-time teacher here in Japan. I go to multiple places throughout Tokyo to work and in each place, I work with another teacher (Japanese teacher) to teach kids how to speak English! The kids vary from ages 3-10. It is so fun to be able to work with and teach them!"

Say hello to the 2019 Ace winner: Taylor Love.

Taylor is a recent graduate of Harding High School in St. Paul and headed to college. In her words:  "I would like to thank you so much just for providing this opportunity for students like me, who are dedicated to improving access to and standards for education. Also thank you so much for choosing me as a recipient, as incorporating this scholarship into my cost of attendance calculations has significantly decreased the amount of financial stress on me and my family. It means a lot to be able to fully focus on education, given the incredible importance of it. I’m currently preparing for a trip to a University in Taipei, so I have been working a lot and recently filling out many to-do lists." Good luck, Taylor. Do great things. I know you will.

The latest from the first.

Chidyaonga Shalita was the first Ace Scholar winner back in 2013. He always will be special to me, not only because he was the first Ace, but because he graduated from my high school, Highland Park in St. Paul. He's such a great person and his future is so bright. Is there a doctor in the house? Why yes there is.

Here's an update:

"In late November, I received my first acceptance letter from the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University in Rhode Island and soon after that additional acceptance began rolling in. By March of 2019 I was accepted into (Brown, University of Chicago, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin Madison, University of Cincinnati, Northwestern University, Morehouse Medical College, and Duke University). In the end, after financial aid negotiations I ended up deciding to attend Duke University School of Medicine with a full-tuition scholarship."

Yemi and the Fulbright.

An update from the 2014 winner Yemi Fadahunsi as she continues to explore the world and teach:

“The Fulbright Fellowship is through the State Department which allows Americans to live and teach English abroad that further increases the soft power (diplomatic) relations between the U.S and various countries around the world. I am fortunate enough to be going to Taiwan from Aug 2018-July 2019.

I will keep you updated as the rest of the school year unfolds till graduation in May 2019!”