BEMNET ZEWDIE
Senior, Montgomery Blair High School
BEMNET ZEWDIE KNOWS the value of a paycheck. When his parents couldn’t afford an SAT prep class or even the $52 testing fee, Bemnet got a job as a tutor with Montgomery County Recreation during his sophomore and junior years to help pay expenses. Coupled with his earnings as a waiter at a nursing home senior year, he has saved $6,000, which he plans to use for college in the fall.
“There were a lot of long nights,” Bemnet, 18, says. “But I wanted to be independent.”
Bemnet and his parents immigrated to Silver Spring from Ethiopia when he was 7. He struggled at Highland View Elementary School, where he had to repeat first grade. “The only two words I knew were yes and no,” he says. He had trouble focusing in the classroom and was the target of bullies.
His English had improved by sixth grade at Eastern Middle School, and he became determined to improve his grades as well. “I stayed after school nearly every day and got extra help from my teachers,” he says.
Bemnet’s determination paid off—he was moved into seventh grade two months after school began. “My parents brought me to this country in order to succeed—it’s a lot of pressure,” he says.
Bemnet plans to be the first in his family to attend college, where he wants to major in international business and political science. He was recently named a Horatio Alger National Scholar for his hard work and determination, winning a $22,000 scholarship and the opportunity to apply to one of the program’s partner colleges and universities.
“I have seen the hard work this young man puts forth and I am in awe of his many accomplishments,” says Jose Medrano, an academic coach who works with Bemnet in the Achieving Collegiate Excellence & Success program, a partnership among Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery College and The Universities at Shady Grove. “High school is just the beginning for him.”
Photos by Michael Ventura
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