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Army-Bound, Phillips Exeter Graduate Named Gates Scholar

Exeter, NH (June 9, 2011)—Abigail Avila's dream of becoming an officer in the army began when she was in the sixth grade. This spring, as a 2011 graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH, she learned she was named a Gates Millennium Scholar and would receive a college scholarship through graduation, bringing her a little closer to realizing that vision.

Each year, thousands of students of color apply for the Gates scholarship, the nation's largest educational aid program. As a member of The Class of 2011 Gates Millennium Scholars, Avila is one of only a thousand high school graduate recipients, representing 44 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories, who will attend 334 colleges and universities.

Established in 1999, the Gates Millennium Scholars Program is funded by a $1.6 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To date, more than 15,000 students have received GMS scholarships, to more than 1,500 schools.

For 11-year-old Avila, the seed was planted when she saw the movie Cadet Kelly. Right away she was curious.  By the time she was a teen, she made the very adult decision to join the military. She convinced her parents to let her attend the Chicago Military Academy for high school.

"When I was 11, I saw that movie and became interested in the military—all aspects of it, boot camp, the uniform—all of it was cool to me. By the eighth grade, I knew. The army is just my place," she says.

"I can't believe this has happened to me; it hasn't really dawned on me yet. I'm still in a state of shock," she says. But Avila believes by the time she attends the scholarship reception this July in the Chicago area, she will have come to grips with her good fortune.

A native of Chicago, Avila joined Junior ROTC for military and citizenship training while in high school. She heard about Phillips Exeter from her rowing coach. "I came to Exeter last year to be on the crew team and strengthen my academics," she says. While spending some time on the team, she improved her skills as a student.

"I'll be attending Case Western University (which has a strong military component) for my undergraduate degree, then I want to go to graduate school—possibly at MIT—and afterward, join the military as a commissioned officer," she says.

Avila says she hopes to study biomedical engineering then pursue her career as an engineer in the army. "That would be my dream come true."

For now, as she transitions from Exeter back to the Midwest to attend college, Avila wistfully looks back on her stint in New England. "I have enjoyed my time here at Exeter. I'm going to miss the diversity most of all."

— Famebridge Witherspoon