Waly-Meissa Ndiaye is a teenager from the South Bronx. On July 22, it was announced that he was one of five students from New York City-area schools selected to receive a $10,000 college scholarship as a 2020 Milken Scholars program recipient (NYC Scholars) for his academic achievements and his service to the community. A former student at Bronx High School of Science, Ndiaye is a Gates Scholar, QuestBridge College Prep Scholar and AP Scholar with distinction.

 

“I’m thankful and feel very fortunate to become a part of the Milken Scholar community,” he said. “In just a few weeks, I’ve gotten the opportunity to see first-hand how it will create life-long connections with scholars from diverse backgrounds through the supportive network of mentoring and advice.”

 

Ndiaye won the Quest for Excellence NYC Award, and twice attended the Harvard College Global Health and Leadership Conference. He studied data visualization, biophysics and science writing with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Online Science Technology and Engineering Community (MOSTEC), where he co-authored a project analyzing EPA pollution data to identify trends between population and pollution levels.

 

He has organized events in The Bronx and Manhattan, delivering food to senior citizens with Meals on Wheels. In addition, he advocated for global health issues and worked for more than 200 hours at soup kitchens, back-to-school events, festivals, food pantries and holiday celebrations. He also mentored incoming freshmen with the Bronx Science’s Big Sibs program to help young students acclimate and tutored fellow students through the National Honor Society.