Jasmine N. Davis is excited about attending North Carolina A&T State University in the fall and she will do it with a full scholarship from the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program.

Davis, a Decatur, Ga. native, is one of 1,000 students in this year’s GMS cohort. She will major in marketing in the department of marketing, transportation and supply chain (MTSC) in the School of Business and Economics.

“After attending New Student Orientation I am looking forward to forming bonds with my peers,” Davis said in an e-mail. “A&T is a family environment and I feel welcomed every time I step on the campus. I am very excited about meeting new people and forming lifelong friendships.”

The scholarship, administered by the United Negro College Fund, is funded through a $1.6 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Davis was initially awarded a scholarship from the School of Business and Economics but gave it back to be awarded to another student.

“I was surprised until they explained the good news,” said Dr. Linda Coley, MTSC department chairwoman in an e-mail.

Coley met Davis and her family on a recruiting trip to Atlanta and asked her to consider MTSC.

“I was humbled when they told me on (June 23) that I promised them that if their daughter came to N.C. A&T we would take care of her ‘so here she is’,” Coley said.

The scholarship is “good-through-graduation.” This year’s cohort represents 47 states, the District of Columbia, the Marshall Islands and four U.S. territories – Federated States of Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands – and will  attend 348 colleges and universities.

Davis has aspirations to work with a Fortune 500 company and starting her own scholarship fund to provide resources to students in need.

“I would like to take my knowledge of marketing and play an active role in enhancing the company I work for,” she said.

“I am able to attend A&T because someone saw something in me and was willing to help me reach my goals and attend college. I would love to be able to extend that same opportunity to someone else.”

Since 1999, more than 16,000 students have received GMS scholarships and attended more than 1,500 colleges and universities. The GMS Program provides recipients with leadership development opportunities, mentoring, academic and social support as well as financial support. The Program is known for its recipients' high graduation rates – a six-year rate of 90 percent (45 percent higher than the national graduation rates for all students) and comparable to the rates for students from high-income families.