Theta Brown Theta Brown, a 2009 graduate of Eau Claire High School, has been named a Gates Millennium Scholar, a highly prestigious award that will pay the entire cost of her college education through graduation including graduate school.

Brown is one of only six Gates Millennium Scholars in South Carolina this year and the only one from Columbia.

The Gates Millennium Scholar Program is funded by a $1 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its goal is to provide an opportunity for outstanding minority students with significant financial need to attend college. According to the organization, Gates Millennium Scholars recipients have an average graduation rate of almost 80 percent, which is higher than the graduation rate for all college students and higher than the rate for highincome students.

This fall Brown will enter Furman University as a biology major with her ultimate goal to become a cardiologist. She says this money is a blessing for her family because this fall her parents will have three children in college.

"I worked hard for this scholarship, and my hard work paid off," said Brown. "I would encourage other Richland One students to always strive to be the best."

While at Eau Claire, Brown was class valedictorian, an Academic All- Star, a member of the National Honor Society and a High School Scholar.

In addition to working part- time, Brown also was a member of the school marching band and Navy JROTC.