“Inspired by his cousin to reach far, a Kansas City student did just that, and last month, he was named a recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship.
Alfred Baskerville IV, a recent graduate of Imagine Renaissance Academy of Environmental Science and Math, knew it would be easier to achieve his dreams if he received the scholarship, which pays for virtually all of a student’s undergraduate education.
One year earlier, his cousin had applied for the scholarship, and while she did not receive it, Baskerville knew he had to at least try.
“‘My senior year came around, and I was on it,’ Baskerville said.
Last fall, he filled out the application, which included nine essays and three references. In mid-March, he learned that he was a finalist, which meant even more paperwork. But his hard work paid off.
It was his mom, crying from excitement, who informed him that he had received the scholarship.
‘I was speechless and excited at the same time,’ Baskerville said. ‘So many emotions were going through my head.’
In addition to being thankful to his cousin for introducing him to the scholarship program, Baskerville credits his family, school, and Shanelle Smith, the Missouri region instructional coach at Imagine Renaissance Academy.
‘They helped me read over my essay,’ Baskerville said. ‘When I would start to slack off because the process was so long and drawn out, they pushed me. I couldn’t have done it without their support and pushing me.’
Smith described Baskerville as a compatible spirit, who went out of his way to help others, including her own son. Baskerville worked with him as as the boy learned his ABCs.
‘First of all, he is a very mature man, wise beyond his years,’ Smith said. ‘He has endured tragedy after tragedy with the deaths of his aunt and grandmother and still attended school. He’s a trouper to be able to power through and get the job done.’
When she learned that Baskerville had received the award, Smith thoughts of all the good Baskerville could do for his fellow students.
‘It feels good, because he comes from a place where he’s not supposed to make it,’ Smith said. ‘He powered through that stereotype. He serves as a ray of hope, a glimpse of light, that if even (other students) don’t get the scholarship, they can make it.’
Baskerville plans on attending Northwest Missouri State University for one year before transferring to Dillard University in New Orleans. He wants to major in pre-medicine, with the goals of becoming a neonatologist.
‘What I want for him,” Smith said, ‘is a truly exceptional college experience . . .,’ Smith said. ‘The field is limitless. He has so much potential. If he wants to be a doctor, I want him to be a doctor.’
‘But above all of that, the connection he and his mother have is so close. I want him to make his mom proud. I don’t think he can go wrong.'”
Article published on June 15, 2010 by the Kansas City Star.