Hermann-Landry Noudja, senior at Calvin Coolidge High School, is a Gates Millennium Scholar. (Photo courtesy of H. Landry Noudja)
Graduating senior, Hermann-Landry Noudja, from Calvin Coolidge High School will attend Penn State University as a 2015 Gates Millennium Scholar, administered by the United Negro College Fund.
As one of 1000 scholarship recipients from across the country, Noudja’s funding for the award will allow him to bypass much of the debt associated with college tuition. While his award is grand, it did not come without adversity.
“When I first came I was in the 10th grade and they moved me back to the 9th grade because my English wasn’t so good,” Noudja told the AFRO on May 13. “It was very hard because most people didn’t understand what I was saying and they laughed at my accent. It was very hard to keep calm and stay humble while people would laugh at everything I said.”
But a little laughter from peers would not stand in his way. His whole purpose for coming to America was educational opportunities, “In Cameroon school is very expensive,” he says. “Even if you get an education, you can graduate but it will be hard to find a job.”
To get on the right course, Noudja stayed after school to get extra help from his teachers. He enrolled in literacy and American exchange programs. He joined the football team and school newspaper.
“I feel like people don’t take these opportunities so I’m here to say look if you’re not going to take the opportunity, I’m going to take it because you don’t know what you’re missing out on right now,” he said. “I just tried to get my hands on the most things I could to make sure that I would do the most I could to better myself.”
At Penn State, Noudja plans to turn his gift of adaptability and fervor into excellence as he pursues a career in medicine.
When he first learned of the Gates Millennium Scholarship, he approached it with apprehension, “I thought it would be too complicated because the whole nation is applying for it – more than 7000 people apply for it every year,” Noudja said.
During his freshman year at Coolidge, he enrolled in the Washington National Cathedral’s Cathedral Scholars program, which ultimately made his decision to apply much easier. “Cathedral Scholars is a college-prep program for some of the most promising high school students in D.C. Public Schools and Hermann is definitely one of them,” said Tony Keith, who became director of the program when Noudja was a rising junior.
Having worked with over 75 students, Keith has developed personal mentor relationships that have allowed him to witness first-hand the growth and potential of each youth. “When I first met Hermann, I think that he probably doubted himself a little bit, not realizing how smart he actually is,” said Keith. “I’ve noticed that Hermann is willing to apply himself a lot more than he has in the past. He is without a doubt more confident in his academic abilities.”
For Noudja, the program also offered opportunities to explore the city with youth who he may not have interacted with under normal circumstances. “We are constantly reminded that young people will need a quality education to remain competitive in the 21st century. For the 20,000 young men and women who will attend college as Gates Millennium Scholars, the financial support, leadership training, mentoring and academic and social support they receive will enable them to become college graduates and our next generation of leaders,” said Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D., president and CEO, UNCF.
