Student Spotlight
Opening the Gates of Success
Two St. Francis College Students Fulfill the Promise of The Gates Scholarship
While waiting for a train outside Union Station in Washington D.C., Nidia Peralta ’18 and K-Andrea
Limol ’19 decided they wanted to explore the city… they never guessed that three years later
they would be sharing an apartment in Brooklyn and working towards undergraduate degrees at
St. Francis College.
T
he two young woman were in Washington
visas. She first attended another college in
for a leadership conference for the high
New York, then studied for a time in Alaska
school Class of 2014 Gates Scholars,
before transferring to St. Francis.
funded through an educational scholarship
They hadn’t spoken for two years when
program set up by the Bill and Melinda Gates
a Facebook anniversary notification showed
Foundation.
a photo of the two of them from D.C. on
K-Andrea says they each had several hours
Nidia’s timeline.
to wait for their trains after the conference was
“I noticed that it said K-Andrea went
over, but no one else wanted to leave the station
to St. Francis and I couldn’t believe it,”
to explore the city, except for Nidia.
said Nidia.
K-Andrea Limol ’19 (left) and Nidia
Peralta ’18 on a recent visit to Nidia’s
“We both thought, ‘We’re in D.C.! What’s
She contacted K-Andrea and the two have
family in the Dominican Republic.
wrong with these people?!’” said Limol, a
struck up a close friendship. In addition to
Political Science major who wants to go
sharing many of the same classes, they pooled
to graduate school to become an environmental engineer.
their stipend money to find an apartment together and recently visited
The two asked friends to watch their suitcases while they visited
Peralta’s family in the Dominican Republic.
Capitol Hill, the Washington Monument, and the White House.
Both say the scholarship is life-changing.
They barely made it back in time.
“I feel like I would be at a state school and working a job,” said
“A conductor had to literally re-open the doors for me to get
Nidia. “With the stipend, I can focus on my studies.”
on the train,” said Nidia, also a Political Science major with an
“We’re always talking about how blessed we are. I don’t think
Economics minor.
we’d even be in school without the scholarship,” added K-Andrea.
After that day together, the two had a little contact on Facebook,
There is no requirement for service to maintain the scholarship,
but no lasting connection.
but giving back is strongly encouraged and each woman plans to
Students apply to The Gates Millennium Scholarship when they
make that part of their career.
are high school seniors. It is unique among scholarship programs
Nidia was inspired by a trip to Nicaragua in high school as well as
in that it covers full tuition, plus room and board, and adds a stipend
her experiences in the Dominican Republic and the U.S. to become
for books and other costs. It even pays for graduate programs in
an elected official. Her next stop is St. John’s University to earn a
selected fields.
Master’s Degree in Government and Politics with a concentration in
The two of them came to St. Francis College on very different paths. International Relations and Competitive Politics. She also continues
Nidia was born in the United States, but raised in the Dominican
to volunteer at Dejando Huellas, a non-profit organization that helps
Republic. She came back to New York in ninth grade and had to
low income high school student go to college where they can develop
re-learn English. St. Francis College was an easy choice for her.
as leaders in their communities.
K-Andrea was born in the Federated States of Micronesia, which
K-Andrea wants to return to Micronesia after graduate school
became independent from the United States in 1986. Through a
and use her knowledge to tackle the problems that global warming
compact, its citizens can live, work, and study in the U.S. without
is already bringing to her island home. ●
The SFC Nursing Club had
a busy spring semester,
holding numerous events
in the community. They
raised more than $1,000
at the March for Babies in
April. In May, they volun-
teered at the St. Joseph’s
Soup Kitchen in Greenwich
Village, serving more than
400 meals.
ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE TERRIER | SUMMER 2018, VOLUME 81, NUMBER 2
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