The 2018 Ace winner: Pa Nhia Thao

Pa has so much in common with my late father, it's magical. She graduated from Washington Tech which was once Washington High, the first school my father taught at. And Pa is attending St. Thomas, the university my dad received his teaching degree from. The circle keeps going.

This is her plan, in her words: 

"I graduated from Washington Technology Magnet. I have decided to attend the four year program at the University of St. Thomas. This past summer, I got accepted to a five week bridge program at UST; Reaching Excellence in Academics and Leadership (REAL) program. The program is all paid for with housing and meal plan for the five weeks. During the program, we are required to attend a Theology 101 course which is a four credit course that all students at UST have to take within their four years. I also got paired with a work study job that will allow me to continue working their in the fall as well. During the program, I have made new friends and built a strong connection with my professor and supervisors.

"Attending Washington Technology magnet, I felt very comfortable in my environment. Now that I am going off to college, my goal in the coming weeks are to find comfort in my own skin. Attending UST in the summer has definitely helped me find my resources and my support system and words cannot express how excited I am for college. This fall I will be taking sixteen credits; math, microeconomics, French 1, and art history."

Aonga, big heart, big dreams.

The original Ace winner, Aonga Shalita, continues his quest to help others with his many gifts. His latest update:

"My time at Macalester opened so many doors that I didn’t even know were options! I have been working for Rise Inc., a non-profit out of North Minneapolis for the past year. It has been an amazing experience. I have learned so much about mental health, social services, benefits, education and pitfalls that exist in our society. I have also learned more about people from different walks of life, experiences, attitudes and learned about their stories. As an employee at Rise, I work to support people recovering from mental health issues, pursue meaningful employment. It has been a fantastic experience that I can’t really do justice in describing. Moving forward I plan on continuing working here while I prepare for graduate school that I hope to attend the year of 2019!"

Ace would be proud.

Update from Yemi.

Yemi, the 2014 Ace winner, has difference-making plans. Awesome to hear. An update from her:

"I am in my final semester of my senior year at St.Bens! I am currently waiting to hear back from two fellowships to hopefully be abroad next year! I am a semi finalist from both the Fulbright Award for Taiwan and the JET (Japanese Exchange Teaching Program). I will hear back from them sometime in the beginning of April."

Go, Yemi!

Martessa Hudson, 2016 Ace winner.

Martessa is from Harding High School in St. Paul and is undecided about her college choice. (My father Ace was Assistant Principal at Harding for most of the 1970s.)

Here is an excerpt from Martessa's winning essay:

“Education is important to me because I know this is my ticket to a better way of life. I want the opportunity to start a career in doing something I love. You cannot put a price tag on knowledge because knowledge is sustainable, durable and strong. I want to use my mind to overcome obstacles and use my hands to create masterpieces. Being educated allows me to think with greater depth and to find deeper meanings. It helps me to think in different ways to understand what I once did not. Education is important and without it, I would not have made it as far as I have.”

Look for an update soon on Martessa and her pursuit of higher education.

Yemi on climate change.

Yemi Fadahunsi was the Ace winner in 2014. Really proud of her news. YEMI: "I want to share with you the blog I wrote through my D.C internship this summer at Global Witness. I wrote about my experience/research at COP21 in Paris in 2015. This is very exciting because it is my first piece of published work so far in my academic career."Link: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/climate-change-front-line-why-marginalized-voices-matter-climate-change-negotiations/ 

The 2017 winner: Kaitlyn Gonzales.

Proud to present the latest winner of the Ace. Kaitlyn is graduating from Johnson High in St. Paul and off to the University of Wisconsin/Eau Claire in the Fall. She aspires to become an elementary school teacher. Special thanks to everybody who applied this year to the scholarship. Would also like to extend gratitude to Samina Ali, Kaitlyn's collage advisor at Johnson. Stay tuned to hear more from Kaitlyn and the all the previous Ace winners.

Special thanks.

The Ace Scholarship wouldn't be possible without the support and dedication of the St. Paul Public Schools and their passionate staff. Since day one, they have been 100% supportive of the idea behind the gift and have done an outstanding job finding very gifted students. Special thanks to Beverly who has been there since day one. My dad Ace loved the city public schools and what they stood for: the chance for every child to use education to reach their dreams. I know first hand. I am a graduate of Highland Park and my time there is something I will always cherish.