Mohammed Bappe '15 Named a Gates Millennium Scholar

Mohammed Bappe ’15 has received the Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund's (APIASF) Gates Millennium Scholarship (GMS). Through the GMS, 1,000 nationwide high school students are awarded a scholarship that can be used to pursue a degree in any undergraduate major and selected graduate programs at accredited colleges or universities. There are 14 Pennsylvania students who received the scholarship. Bappe, a resident of Lansdowne, PA, has been boarding at CFS since 7th grade and is the Student Council President. He will attend Swarthmore College next year, where he hopes to study international relations, along with film and media.

According to www.gmsp.org, the GMS Program, funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was established in 1999 to provide outstanding low income African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American and Hispanic American students with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline they choose. Continuing Gates Scholars may request funding for a graduate degree program in one of the following discipline areas: computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science. The goal of GMS is to promote academic excellence by providing thousands of outstanding students, who have significant financial need, the opportunity to reach their full potential.

“We are so pleased for Mohammed and very proud of his contributions and accomplishments during his time at Church Farm School,” says Ned Sherrill, CFS Head of School. “He has emerged as a distinguished leader in and out of the classroom, and this scholarship proves what we all already know; he’s a fantastic young man.” Adds Bappe, “CFS has made me really independent, and taught me that throughout life, you have to make your own opportunities.”

Bappe heard about the scholarship program while applying for a QuestBridge scholarship, for which he was a finalist and his classmate, Ced Moise ’15, a recipient. His application was due on February 18, 2015, and included writing eight personal essays. One essay focused on an interaction Bappe had with a seatmate on the plane after he succumbed to an airport search which he believes was based on his name and Muslim faith. “We talked about stereotypes, and how her son died during 9/11 and she was filled with so much anger,” he says. “She reminded me that anger toward airport security wouldn’t do anything, and that I should love them instead.” Bappe learned about the scholarship in early April, when his little brother, Rafeeul, texted him a picture of the letter. Bappe is relieved that the scholarship will eliminate much of the financial burden of college for his parents.

The entire CFS Class of 2015 has been accepted into four-year colleges and universities, with more than $2M in scholarships and grants awarded to seniors. Stay tuned here for the announcement of all of their final college decisions!