James Wu, second Gates Millennium Scholarship winner, will attend Ivy League's Columbia University with all expenses paid

With plans to work on Wall Street someday, James Wu will first complete his undergraduate degree at Columbia University in New York City, thanks to the Gates Millennium Scholarship.

"I was in shock. It felt unreal," said Wu, 18, describing the feeling when he found out he was one of 1,000 students in the U.S. to receive the prestigious scholarship this year, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "It's such an honor and privilege to have gotten the scholarship. It means the world to me."

The 2016 graduate of Washburn Rural High School will have all tuition and expenses paid in full as he works for a bachelor's degree in financial engineering with a minor in computer science. Up to this point in his young life, Wu said his mother has been his "biggest encouragement."

"She always pushed me and motivated me to achieve something that she never had the opportunity to have," he said, "especially an Ivy League education. We're very excited."

The Gates Millennium Scholarship was established in 1999 to allow minority students to pursue undergraduate degrees in several science and technology-related fields at the college of their choice. According to Columbia's website, the estimated cost of tuition for the 2015-16 school year is $69,084, which includes tuition and fees, room and board, books and personal expenses. Wu said the scholarship will also cover his travel costs.

The first in his family to leave Kansas to attend college, Wu said the all-expenses paid education will allow him to focus on getting his degree to eventually promote investment in renewable energy or become an investment banker at a Wall Street bank.

Wu said the relatively small Columbia campus, with an estimated 6,000 undergraduate students, is a "good fit" for him.

"It's a nice community," he said. "It's a tight-knit community. Everybody is very close. It felt right."

Wu said his love for computers began growing soon after being introduced to robotics in the Wanamaker Elementary gifted program.

"That's where I started getting an interest in computer science," he said. "I remember one of the projects that we did was to assemble a robot in less than an hour and program that robot and bring it into competition. That was very exciting for me. That's what sparked my initial interest in computer science."

But Wu's fierce competitive nature later permeated into policy debate and forensics when he reached Washburn Rural High School. In addition to serving as his debate team's president, he is a three-time national qualifier in policy debate, crediting his coaches, Cynthia Burgett and Tim Ellis, for his success, describing them as "the absolute best."

"I feel so privileged to have gotten the chance to work with them over the past couple of years," he said, "because they definitely are part of the best coaching staff in Kansas for sure."

Wu also credits his debate partner, Laura Nicolae, who plans to pursue a double major in mathematics and economics at Harvard this fall, for his debate achievements.

"It's such a privilege to go out and debate with her every weekend," he said. "We're both very, very competitive as it is. We like to go out and win tournaments."

Wu and Alexis Tibbits of Topeka High School, are the only two Shawnee County students to have won the Gates Millennium Scholarship this year.

According to the foundation's website, the other Kansas recipients include Kailey Davis, Hiawatha High School; Brianna Barrientos, South High School (Wichita); Amanda Conway, Hill City Jr.-Sr. High; Zainab Dafalla, Wyandotte High School; George Ibarra, Liberal High School; Rogelio Martinez, North High School (Wichita); Tavian Smith, Northeast Magnet High School and Darion Stafford, Washington High School (Kansas City, Kan.).

Source: James Wu, second Gates Millennium Scholarship winner, will attend Ivy League's Columbia University with all expenses paid