Nick Robertson, a senior at Vincent High School, has been awarded the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Robertson was one of 1,000 students selected from a pool of 54,000 applicants nationally. Robertson is ranked third in his class of 56 with a 3.98 GPA. He plans to attend the University of Alabama and major in pre-med.

The Gates Millennium Scholars Program, established in 1999, was initially funded by a $1 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The goal of the scholarship is to promote academic excellence and to provide an opportunity for outstanding minority students to reach their full potential.

The scholarship will cover the cost for tuition, books, and housing for undergraduate study at any college or university of his choice. The scholarship also extends through graduate school to students continuing study in the areas of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.

Robertson was required to submit eight personal essays in which he told of being raised in a single parent home and the sacrifices his mother has made for him.

Principal Joel Dixon said he is extremely proud of Robertson’s accomplishment and wanted the entire school to share in the excitement of his achievement.

“We stopped everything we were doing and made an announcement to the school,” Dixon said. “This is a really big deal. I wanted our other students to be able to witness and experience his achievement.”