Lisa Bedoya

MHC Students Named Gates Millennium Scholars

Frances Perkins Scholar Elizabeth ("Lisa") Bedoya and Stacey Pulmano '04 have been named Bill Gates Millennium Scholars. Selected for the program's inaugural class of scholarship recipients, the MHC women are among 4,000 high-achieving students from low-income, minority families, chosen from more than sixty thousand nominees nationwide, to receive scholarship funding.

The scholarships, funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, cover the balance of college costs after financial aid packages are awarded. Bedoya, the mother of two, has been a leader in combating drugs and gang violence in her Jarvis Heights Apartments community in Holyoke. Despite early struggles as a teen mother, Bedoya, who is now twenty-nine, became a rental agent, then the assistant manager for her apartment building, and was soon promoted to property manager. Last year, she served on the board of Holyoke's Neighborhood Network Center and was a member of the nominating committee for the Western Massachusetts Girl Scouts. In addition to her commitment to community service- at Jarvis Heights, she is also chair of the building's Boy Scout troop--Bedoya has been a dedicated student of political scienceat MHC since September of 1999. With plans to attend law school, she is considering a career in immigration law.

Pulmano, who is from Hawaii, could not be reached for comment.