‘I didn’t really believe it at first’: Southeast Whitfield High valedictorian receives prestigious Gates Scholarship
Published 4:15 pm Monday, July 24, 2023
- Jazmine Ayabar, who graduated as the valedictorian of Southeast Whitfield High School's 2023 class, has received the Gates Scholarship, allowing her a full-ride at Duke University over the next five years.
Jazmine Ayabar’s great-grandfather often said he wanted nothing more than to see his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren achieve the dream he never had the opportunity to pursue while living in Jalisco, Mexico.
He wanted to see them attend college.
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Although her great-grandfather passed away before he could see those desires come to fruition, Ayabar set out to make him proud by fulfilling his wishes.
“He would be so happy that I finally achieved this dream,” said Ayabar, a recent Southeast Whitfield High School graduate. “(My mom) always makes sure to remind me of that.”
After years of hard work inside and outside of the classroom at Southeast Whitfield, Ayabar has the opportunity to do exactly that when she begins her first semester at Duke University in August thanks to receiving a prestigious full-ride scholarship known as the Gates Scholarship. While attending Duke, she plans to study computer science with a specialization in artificial intelligence (AI).
Ayabar, who graduated from Southeast Whitfield as class valedictorian and with honors with distinction in May, is one of only 300 recipients who were awarded the Gates Scholarship in 2023. More than 51,000 students applied for the scholarship, according to its website.
The Gates Scholarship, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, helps support minority students with an outstanding record in academics. The scholarship not only allows Ayabar to attend Duke University, which she called the “school of (her) dreams,” but also covers the entire cost of attendance, including tuition, fees, boarding, books and transportation for up to five years.
“She is an exceptional young lady,” said Southeast Whitfield Principal Denise Pendley. “This scholarship is life-changing because it allows her to go to Duke and everything is paid for. She’s going to do great things; she’s a great role model, and her drive is just unmatched. She deserves it and she’s worked hard for it. I can’t wait to see how it goes.”
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The scholarship application process includes three rounds.
“Since I’ve been (at Southeast Whitfield), this is the first student to receive such a scholarship as far as I know,” Pendley said. “I’ve been here for 12 years and nobody has gotten it prior to her. This opens the door for her to go to her ideal school and gain some experience outside of Georgia. It’s just exciting for everybody here that’s seen her go through four years of high school.”
‘I didn’t really believe it at first’
From the time Ayabar was in seventh grade she knew becoming a Duke Blue Devil was the destination she desired.
“I felt like Duke was the right choice for me because I really value how they have a more holistic approach to education,” she said. “I like that at Duke I would be around people from all different backgrounds. My new roommate is from China and I think that is so amazing. I’m excited to be surrounded by so much diversity, not only ethnically but also in ways of thinking and in pursuits in life.”
But as financial struggles mounted in her family while growing up in Dalton, Ayabar thought the possibility of attending the Durham, North Carolina, university was less realistic each year.
“I really wanted to go to Duke, but I knew that it would be a financial burden,” said Ayabar. “At home, my mom was the only person who worked a job. I knew that I would not be able to support (going to Duke) and come out without a bunch of debt.”
Ayabar, the youngest of five children, said her mother, Martha Ayabar, and her older siblings had to make sacrifices to help support the family.
“Around seventh grade … it’s really just been my mom and all my siblings,” Ayabar said. “When my mom first (moved to Dalton) from Mexico, she was sleeping at other families’ homes just trying to find a stable place to raise her children in. Two of my older siblings went to high school here, but they both dropped out to work full-time jobs because my family was not in a good place financially.”
Ayabar said those sacrifices helped pave the way for her to be the first in her family to don a maroon-colored cap and gown as part of Southeast Whitfield’s 2023 graduating class.
“I was the first to actually finish high school and graduate (in my family), and now I will be the first to go to college,” she said. “I didn’t think it was possible at first but hard work pays off.”
When Ayabar received the email stating she had been awarded the Gates Scholarship — a process which involved four written essays and seven months of anticipation — she said it was a “rewarding experience.”
“The process was definitely long, I guess because they have so many applicants,” said Ayabar. “I went through a lot of emotions when I got the email; I didn’t really believe it at first. It was crazy to think that (receiving it) was even a possibility. I was feeling so much happiness.”
Before being awarded the scholarship, Ayabar had accepted an offer from Georgia Tech, initially believing her hope of affording an out-of-state university such as Duke would be left only to the imagination.
“Duke is where I knew I wanted to go,” said Ayabar. “I originally got accepted into Georgia Tech because it was in-state and less expensive because of the HOPE scholarship. When I found out about this scholarship opportunity I knew my chances to go to Duke were actually possible.”
High school successes
Ayabar received multiple other grants and scholarships during her senior year at Southeast Whitfield, including from the Robert Loughridge Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Lesche Woman’s Club and the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society.
Ayabar ended her final year at Southeast Whitfield with a 4.3 grade point average (GPA) and the 2023 STAR student award, which is given to the student with the highest score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) along with being in the top 10% of the class rank. Ayabar was also chosen as the student “most likely to become rich” in her high school yearbook’s senior superlatives.
Sally Robinson, an Advanced Placement (AP) literature and study skills teacher at Southeast Whitfield, was instrumental in educating Ayabar and other students about applying for the Gates Scholarship, Ayabar said.
“She made sure we stayed on top of checking our emails and keeping up with important dates,” said Ayabar.
First meeting Ayabar during Ayabar’s senior year, Robinson said her leadership qualities made her the “perfect candidate” for the scholarship.
“She set out (to achieve success) as soon as she walked in,” said Robinson. “She’s incredibly intelligent and kind; students really gravitated towards her. She added so much to any discussion we had in class. Her dedication to striving for excellence absolutely sets her apart from other students.”
Ayabar was a drum major for the school’s marching band, participated in mock trial as part of student government and helped the robotics team, The Fighting Mongooses, go to the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics World Championships in 2022, serving as team captain.
‘It’s something that I’ve always enjoyed’
Ayabar said she developed a passion for robotics at a young age, first joining teams and events at Eastbrook Middle School before continuing at Southeast Whitfield and the Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy.
“Being captain of the robotics team was probably my biggest motivator in wanting to pursue computer science further,” said Ayabar. “I’ve been doing some form of robotics since seventh grade, so it’s something that I’ve always enjoyed. I’ve talked to people who may not know what they want to do yet now that they’ve graduated, but for me it was always very clear.”
Ayabar said captaining the robotics team and becoming the drum major for Southeast Whitfield were beneficial to her success in school and attributed to time spent in the Raider Ambassadors Program, a service and leadership program co-led by LeighAnn Noll.
“The Raider Ambassadors are a select group of juniors and seniors chosen through an application process,” said Noll. “It is about building leadership skills, getting kids involved in the community, and has a big focus on service. It’s a great group of kids and it’s very prestigious at the school to be chosen.”
The time spent as part of the Raider Ambassadors under the guidance of Noll was valuable, said Ayabar.
“Within that (program), Mrs. Noll taught us about leadership and how to overcome struggles while being a good person to the people you’re leading,” said Ayabar. “She’s a very motivated person and she gets stuff done. She has inspired me to be a lot like her.”
During the scholarship application process, Noll said she assisted Ayabar and another student who made it through several rounds with “setting up mock interview panels to get them ready” for the online interview portion.
“I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to be so shocked if she isn’t chosen,’ because she has always been so impressive as a student,” said Noll. “She’s not afraid of a challenge and she throws herself into everything she does. I was not surprised at all when she got it. I was ecstatic.”
Support and the future
Aybar said she felt honored to be surrounded by so many supportive influences in her life.
“The teachers I had along the way have probably been the most supportive,” Ayabar said. “My family is supportive in a different way; they push me to have the willpower to do it. My teachers, such as Mrs. Robinson, Mrs. Noll and Dr. (Shanda) Hickman, are the ones who have the actual information on what I need to do and give clear instructions on how to achieve it.”
Pendley said the impression Ayabar made on Southeast Whitfield will still be felt as the next school year unfolds.
“She means so much to the teachers and administration,” said Pendley. “I bought a Duke sweatshirt to wear one day before school is out. I’m a Duke supporter now.”
While Ayabar stated paths may change as she finds her way on the Duke campus, she said there is a particular field of study she would like to contribute to throughout her four years at the university and beyond.
“I want to use AI in a way that can help people,” she said. “I know that it’s new technology and I think that it can be applied in ways such as helping labor workers with the physical tolls their jobs take on their bodies. I think there’s ways to augment that to where they will still have their job, but it’s not as back-breaking thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence.
“I’m really excited to be studying (AI) at this time because of the introduction of things like ChatGPT and all these new technologies into the mainstream. It’s going to be a really formative time.”