Originally published on 3/26/2020
Stephen Mgbemeje, a senior at Shadow Creek High School, has been selected as a 2020 Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship winner. He is one of only 100 winners across the country who will receive scholarships of $10,000 per year over the next four years to study computer science at the college of their choice. Each of the students will also receive a paid internship offer at Amazon to give them valuable work experience.
Stephen said he plans on attending the University of Texas at Austin and majoring in Electrical/Electronics Engineering.
“My goal after college is to gain a Master’s in business, then work for a couple of years as an engineer before deviating my career into the consulting field,” Stephen shared. “My ultimate goal would be to own my own company.”
His teacher, Nathan Lyson, said that Stephen is an exceptional student and is a joy to have in class.
“Mr. Lyson has molded me to be the student I am by pushing me to go above and beyond in the classroom,” Stephen stated. “He brought the Amazon scholarship to my attention and convinced me to apply while providing me with a letter of recommendation. He taught me the meaning of hard work and dedication.”
When asked how the District learned of this amazing opportunity with Amazon, Erica Price, Alvin ISD Director of Curriculum and Instruction shared, “I began working on creating a pathway to the STEM endorsement in 2017. We had Science, Math and Engineering (through CTE's Project Lead the Way), but we did not have a pathway for kids who were interested in Computer Science. Computer Science is a career field with such high demand for skilled, trained people, and I thought we should have a pathway for kids in Alvin ISD to explore. We brought AP Computer Science principles to the district to round out our offerings, and the next step was to find good resources for our Computer Science teachers to use. I came across the Amazon Future Engineer website, and I applied for our district to become a part of the program. Free curriculum was offered to participating districts, and there were other possible benefits that intrigued me, such as the possibility of our students earning scholarships and an Amazon internship. A few weeks after applying, we were accepted into the program!”
Price added, “I am so pleased with our Computer Science program, Mr. Lyson, and all our teachers. Alvin ISD is so proud of Stephen and we cannot wait to hear of his future success!”
Amazon states the 100 scholarship winners were selected for, not only, their academic achievements, but their leadership skills, work experience, participation in school and community projects, and their future goals. The Amazon Future Engineer initiative is a part of the company’s $50 million investment in computer science and STEM education. The goal is to motivate students to pursue careers in the accelerated field of computer science.