9 D.C. Students Win GW Scholarships

Taylor Moore, 18, had an inkling something was up this morning when her mother asked her to wear dress slacks to Benjamin Banneker High School instead of her usual jeans.

Her suspicions were confirmed later when she saw her parents trying to sneak undetected into the auditorium of the Northwest Washington school and when her name was called as one of nine recipients of full scholarships from the George Washington University.

"She tried to get me to wear slacks (which she didn't do) and he said he was going to a dentist appointment instead of work," said Moore, referring to her parents. The scholarship "makes George Washington affordable, especially since college tuition is so expensive," added Moore, who wants to study computer science.

For nearly 20 years, the university has provided full scholarships to 99 D.C. high school students, surprising them with the news during special school presentations.

Other winners, all from Northwest schools, were: Bdho Gidey and Mariam Mohammed of Wilson High; Natasha Dupree of School Without Walls; Mharibeth Caparas of Georgetown Visitation Preparatory; Veronica Torres and William Echbihi El Idrissi of Theodore Roosevelt High; and Omari Daniels and Sarah Jackson of Banneker.

Dion Haynes