2 Chester-Upland students named Gates Millennium Scholars

CHESTER, Pa. (WPVI) -- The Gates Foundation has named two students from the Chester-Upland School District as the new Millennium Scholars.

Winners Autumn Bey and Edward Nelson, Jr. bring the total number of Gates Millennium Scholars from the financially challenged district to six in the past four years.

As recipients of the Gates Millennium Scholarships, they will receive fully funded scholarships covering tuition, books, room and board through graduate school.

The Millennium Scholars program was established in 1999 and funded by a $1.6 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to remove financial barriers to higher education for high-achieving, low-income students.

Each year, the highly competitive program has selected 1,000 talented students nationwide to receive a good-through-graduation scholarship to use at any accredited college or university of their choice.