10 Oakland high school students awarded full scholarships to Northeastern – Northeastern Global News
In its second year, the Oakland Opportunity Scholarships program covers full tuition, housing and food costs for local students as part of the university’s commitment to support the Oakland community.
OAKLAND, Calif. — When one of Macie Chao’s friends at Oakland Technical High School suggested she apply for a full scholarship to Northeastern University, she wasn’t sure — until she did some research.
“I fell in love with the school,” she says. “I really liked how many campuses they had and that you could study abroad anywhere. Also, I really liked their co-op program. It really stood out to me amongst all the other schools I applied to.”
Now, Chao is one of 10 Oakland high school students who received a full scholarship to attend Northeastern as part of the second annual Oakland Opportunity Scholarships program.
The scholarships, which cover tuition, housing and food costs, are awarded to eligible Oakland high school seniors as part of Northeastern’s commitment to support students from campus communities. The students will spend their freshman year on the university’s Oakland campus.
This year’s Oakland Opportunity Scholars are Chao, Daniel Alfaro, Leiani Donaldson, Diego Juarez Giron, Keona Hennings, Jamiyah Knight, Eric Sebastian Lopez, Quy Nguyen, Idayat Okuboyejo and Richard Purev.
The university welcomed the scholars to campus for an event on Tuesday. Scholarship recipients and their families joined leaders of the Oakland Unified School District to celebrate the beginning of the students’ college journey.
OUSE Superintendent Denise Saddler says she looks forward to an “ongoing partnership” between Northeastern and the district.
“Thank you to Northeastern University,” Saddler says. “There aren’t many organizations that have made this commitment to our students. The way they have just come here and lifted up our students and given this opportunity is something I will never forget.”
Parents in attendance also expressed gratitude and pride. Alejandro and Silma Juarez say they are excited that their son, Diego Juarez, will have access to the experiential learning.
“We are very happy for him to have this opportunity,” Silma Juarez says. “It’s truly amazing. It’s like a dream. Students graduate with a job, and that’s what we want.”
Daniel Alfaro is already very familiar with the Oakland campus. For the past two years, he has participated in the TRiO Upward Bound program, which helps prepare high school students for college. Alfaro plans to study health science and business administration. While at Oakland Technical High School, he took 10 dual enrollment courses at Bay Area community colleges, including French, which he hopes to use in a study abroad program. He also wants to participate in a Dialogues of Civilization course during his first summer.
“That’s what I like about Northeastern,” he says. “It’s more real-world. You’re actually there. I like the classroom, but I want to learn outside of it and get experience that other people my age wouldn’t be getting.”
Macie Chao, who has a younger brother in middle school, will be the first in her family to attend college. She plans to major in computer science and business administration and is completing an internship at the San Francisco-based software firm Okta. She works on the vulnerability team, assessing risks and weaknesses in software.
All 10 students will move into campus housing two days earlier than other freshmen because they’re part of the Trailblazers program, which builds a cohort for first-generation university students to support them through college.
Donaldson learned about Northeastern from her counselor at Coliseum College Prep Academy.
“I did some research and decided that this sounds like a school I really want to go to,” she says. “I love the co-op program.”
While in high school, she took a course in data analytics that solidified her decision to study business administration and finance.
“I’ve always seen myself in corporate roles since I was very young,” she says.
Donaldson is currently doing an internship at Patelco Credit Union, making sure that people opening new accounts have submitted all the required materials. She also helped set up a new chatbot and platform for members to communicate with bankers.
Purev, who graduated from Oakland Technical High School, also plans to study finance. As president of his high school’s economics club, Purev prepared slides about micro- and macroeconomic concepts to share with other students. Club members also created mock investment firms, allocating money to different funds.
When he learned about the opportunity to do co-ops, Purev knew that he would like Northeastern.
“It provides resume-building opportunities,” he says. “A lot of companies really want to see internship experience.”
His mother, Gerel Shagdar, is also impressed that Northeastern students can try a type of work — through internships and co-ops — to be sure it’s what they want to do.
“We came here and heard a lot about how the university helps students get internships,” Shagdar says. “That’s a good opportunity to get the job skills in the field you’re interested in, but it’s not too late to change majors.”
Kate Rix is a Northeastern Global News reporter. Email her at k.rix@northeastern.edu.
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