Two Macon students win Gates scholarships

Two students at Macon’s Central High School have been selected as Gates Millennium Scholars for 2016.

Tamia Middleton and Ira Moore were among the 1,000 students selected from 53,000 applicants, and as a result, they will receive up to $250,000 for their college education in any field.

The Gates Millennium Scholars program was funded through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The scholarship was established in 1999 “to provide outstanding low income African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, and Hispanic American students with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education,” according to a release from the Bibb County school district.

This is the fifth year in the last six that Central students have been selected. Thelron Pleas was chosen in 2011, followed by Kenya Andrews, Christine Okaro and Ashley Washington in 2013. Joseph Lofton picked up the honor in 2014, and Nicole Wiggins was chosen in 2015.

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 2:12 PM with the headline "Two Macon students win Gates scholarships."