A Martin High School senior was awarded a $40,000 Amazon Future Engineer scholarship to a college of their choice and a guaranteed internship.
Out of thousands of applicants, Chijioke Mgbahurike is one of 100 high school seniors from underserved communities across the country who will receive this scholarship.
Recipients were chosen based on a variety of criteria, including their academic achievement, demonstrated leadership, participation in school and community activities, work experience, future goals and financial need.
Amazon Future Engineer is a childhood-to-career education program that works to inspire and educate children and young adults from underrepresented and underserved communities to pursue careers in the fast-growing field of computer science and coding.
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Mgbahurike will be able to use the $40,000 scholarship over four years at Stanford University with a guaranteed paid internship offer at Amazon after his freshman year of college to gain critical real-world work experience.
"Chiji has taken advantage of every extracurricular learning opportunity," said James Hovey, Martin High School STEM teacher. "He has always loved technology and his skills have grown far beyond what is covered in basic high school classes through these challenges. He has focused mainly on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity since his junior year."
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Mgbahurike is an immigrant from Nigeria and has made education his focus to be the best he can be in and outside the classroom, studying computer science since his freshman year.
"In order to extend my learning capabilities outside of the classroom, there is but one major thing that I have done: being involved with extracurricular activities. This allowed me to create projects and overcome obstacles in a unique way I'd never seen in school. I have been involved with RoboBoat, CyberPatriot, Technology Students of America (TSA), and UIL as means of educating myself in more nuanced and diverse topics," Mgbahurike said.
Arlington ISD is proud to have someone such as Mgbahurike represent them in such a great way, they're excited to see what he's able to do next.
"Chijoke is a great representative of the Arlington ISD," Arlington ISD Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos said. "He's worked hard throughout his time in the Arlington ISD and at our STEM Academy. This honor is a great reward for his diligence. I can't wait to see what the future holds for him."
