A Lindbergh High senior has been named a finalist in the 2014 Gates Millennium Scholar program. Thanh Dinh will be one of only 1,000 high school and college students worldwide to win the award.

She, along with other high school students across the country and students at Harvard, Yale, Cornell and other universities, will participate in a competitive process of eight essays and three selection rounds, with interviews. Finalists for the award are selected from 21,000 college and high school applicants worldwide who are evaluated on academic achievement, community service and leadership potential.

If Dinh is selected, she will be awarded a full-ride college and graduate school scholarship to use at any college or university of her choice, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“My teachers and counselors at Lindbergh High have helped me a lot,” says Dinh in a press release. “Beyond what they teach in the classroom, they share their knowledge and experiences, which has really helped me learn a new language, culture and behaviors. I really love all of the teachers and staff at Lindbergh High.”

Dinh said the higher-level classes offered at Lindbergh High challenged her and made her successful. She’s taken advanced placement calculus, psychology, anatomy and physiology. Dinh also earned a research internship at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center through a program at Lindbergh. She has a goal of becoming an anatomical pathologist or surgeon and wants to major in biochemistry at the University of Washington, before going to medical school.

Past Gates Millennium Scholars include Renton High School seniors Rakib Mirza in 2011 and Lindsay Dacuan in 2010.