On April 17, it was announced that BVH seniors, Brianna and Angela Magtoto were awarded the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship (AFE) at one of BVH’s faculty meetings. For the first time in AFE’s history, two students from the same school were awarded the scholarships. B. Magtoto explains who the AFE scholarship is aimed towards.
“The [AFE] Scholarship is targeted towards students aiming to pursue a career in computer science or related fields such as electrical engineering. Students who win the scholarship often strive to make a lasting impact on technological fields,” B. Magtoto said.
The AFE scholarship awarded its recipients 40,000 dollars to be used for college tuition, splitting it into 10,000 dollars per year. For many students, this kind of money helps tremendously with paying for college’s notoriously high expenses. A. Magtoto further elaborates on the details of what the scholarship awards her.
“As one of the 400 Amazon Future Engineers chosen this year, I was also offered an internship opportunity for the summer after my freshman year. Not only that but as an AFE scholar, I am now connected with an amazing and supportive network of AFE alumni and scholars,” A. Magtoto said. “I also have access to educational resources that support my success as I work towards my post-graduate goals, like the Emergency Grant Program and mental health resources.”
Magtoto explains that she discovered this scholarship after she attended a summer coding camp called “Kode with Klossy”. She met a girl who won the scholarship the year before, and encouraged A. Magtoto to register for the scholarship. Along with this encouragement, AP Computer Science Principles and Biology teacher Oscar Gracias had pushed the Magtotos and his other computer science students to register for the scholarship.
“I give my students time to apply [for the scholarship] during class and I give them credit for applying. Ultimately, it falls on the students and if they believe in themselves, in that they should take advantage of opportunities,” Gracias said. “Once you get the opportunity, you can network with people, enterprises or businesses. You never know where you might end up getting more support.”
Gracias was one of the teachers who had helped announce the award at the faculty meeting. This was a very emotional moment for the Magtotos, knowing they were one step closer to achieving their college dreams. A. Magtoto explains what she thought about the achievement as it was announced.
“I was presented with this scholarship in front of most of the faculty at BVH, it was very overwhelming but exciting. At that moment I felt such a rush of emotions because it meant that not only did I win the scholarship, but my sister did as well,” A. Magtoto said. “I started tearing up because receiving this scholarship in a way, validated all the hard work my sister and I did throughout high school. I was already worried about getting an internship in college because it’s become so competitive.”
The scholarship provides the Magtotos with a paid internship at Amazon, something that is uncommon with scholarships. Amazon is an international corporation that now provides the sisters with several opportunities for experience and connections. Gracias explains further what is in store for the Magtotos at the internship.
“Amazon is a huge company, so they may work for cyber security, they might work for programming, they might work for robotics. There’s a lot of different jobs at Amazon, so it depends on what they seem interested in doing. That expression of interest will place them where they want to be,” Gracias said.
This scholarship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Magtotos and for anyone it is awarded to. The experiences they’ll receive from the internship, as B. Magtoto put it, will be very beneficial for her college journey.
“Getting an internship at a company as big as Amazon is really difficult, so it is very reassuring to know that I have a great opportunity waiting for me. The internship will allow me to gain experience in the field and build both technical and professional skills,” B. Magtoto said. “More than that, the scholarship money will allow me to comfortably pursue an education at Yale. I plan to study at the intersection of computer science and ethics [or] public policy to work as an Artificial Intelligence Ethicist.”
Magtoto is also very appreciative of the internship and the opportunity to work in a real-life work environment. Working alongside experts in the field she is planning to pursue and making connections is also something that will give her an advantage in the workforce.
“I am so grateful and ecstatic to pursue a paid internship opportunity at Amazon. I will be embedded on an engineering team at Amazon and will work to build products that have a real impact on Amazon customers,” A. Magtoto said. “As an Electrical Engineering major, I am able to choose between the Software Development Engineer (SDE) or the Hardware Development Engineer (HDE) track.”
Furthermore, this scholarship serves as a way to reduce college tuition. For students like B. Magtoto, who plans on attending Yale University, her tuition can reach up to 100,000 dollars. The 10,000 dollars per year may not seem like much at first, but it will go a very long way as the Magtotos further their education. B. Magtoto shines a light on why she applied for the scholarship initially.
“I applied for the scholarship to make college as affordable as possible for my family and I. As a triplet and being the first generation to go to college in the United States, I took any chance to lessen the financial burden for us,” B. Magtoto. “I am also incredibly inspired by my mom on a day-to-day basis, so I wanted to lessen the college expenses for all the sacrifices she made for my sisters and I.”
