Dante Parker, Computer Scientist and Scholarship Winner

Bring in the Energy

When he entered high school, Dante Parker’s mother told him their family wouldn’t spend a dollar on his college education. Funding tuition would be up to him.

“She probably didn’t say it that harshly,” he recalled, laughing. Now an aspiring software engineer at the University of Michigan on a full-tuition scholarship he discovered through Scholarships.com, Parker can only be grateful for his family’s insistence.

Computer science has been an interest of Parker’s for as long as he can remember. The epiphany struck at age 4, mid-battle with his father in a video game. Every detail, from the feel of the controller in his hands to the cartoony character he’d chosen as his avatar, has remained fresh in his mind since then.

“I just remember thinking to myself: wow, this screen, the colors, how is this happening?” Parker said. “I wanted to know more about it.”

By the time he entered high school, that curiosity had brought about all sorts of new opportunities for Parker. He was randomly assigned placement in an elective band class, a discipline he’d never thought to explore; rather than transferring from the course, Parker decided to give it a fair chance, and found a new passion for saxophone performance as a result.

“Scholarships.com really helped me out, because I eventually got to the point where I couldn’t find a lot of scholarships that matched me,” he said, “then I’d go on Scholarships.com and I could find a few [more].”

With a solid idea of what to pursue and his senior year of high school swiftly approaching, Parker turned towards his higher education prospects. There were three ways he could fund his future: working through college, taking out student loans, and winning scholarships. The answer was obvious.

Parker kicked his scholarship search into high gear at the beginning of senior year. He created a system to prioritize his applications based on deadlines, reward amounts, and requirements; all that was left was to actually find the scholarships themselves.

“I’d go into Safari and search for computer science scholarships, scholarships for high school seniors, high school juniors…” Parker said, “and Scholarships.com would appear.”

Scholarships.com became the base of operations for Parker’s scholarship search. He used the site’s personalized matching service to find funds tailored directly to his interest in computer science and his specific financial situation.

“Scholarships.com really helped me out, because I eventually got to the point where I couldn’t find a lot of scholarships that matched me,” he said, “then I’d go on Scholarships.com and I could find a few [more].”

It was through Scholarships.com that Parker discovered the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship, a competitive scholarship for high-achieving computer science students. Worth $40,000 towards winners’ tuition, the scholarship also includes paid internship and mentorship opportunities. It was perfect.

“I had to attach a letter of recommendation and my transcript, and then it was just a few essay questions I had to fill out,” Parker said. “It’s pretty straightforward, and that trend continued with the other scholarships I applied to.”

And he applied to many other scholarships. Parker knew the field of computer science was expanding every day, so he needed to apply to smaller, less competitive awards in addition to the big ones to secure the greatest possible chance of success. With Scholarships.com’s help, he applied to over 50 scholarships, balancing his financial aid efforts with his academic career and his position in the Detroit Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble as a saxophone player.

“There were a few times where I was stressed due to my own procrastination,” said Parker. But Scholarships.com’s organization, which lays out deadlines and other requirements in plain sight next to each award, kept him on the path to success even when it was down to the wire.

“If you procrastinate, you’ll be fine,” he reflected. “If you don’t procrastinate, you’ll be better.”

It’s been a year since Parker graduated from high school, and a year since he received more than his entire undergraduate tuition’s worth in scholarships. Among his list of awards are the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship, through which he is now interning in Seattle, and the Gates Scholarship, a full-tuition honor for which he now volunteers as a mentor.

He is also the recipient of several local scholarships and an alum of Apple Developer Academy, where he created an iPhone app, Ease-Amind, to reduce stress. All these opportunities have contributed to his great success as a student.

“[Student loans are not] a burden for me. I’m going to school for free— if anything, I’m earning money for attending college because of refund checks,” he said.

“[Student loans are not] a burden for me. I’m going to school for free— if anything, I’m earning money for attending college because of refund checks,” he said. “I can focus on my academics. I can focus on my social life. I don’t have to worry about working whilst being in college, so that opens up time for me to pursue clubs and extracurricular activities.”

Case in point: his saxophone playing. Because he doesn’t need to work a full-time job while in college, Parker is using his spare time to minor in music, a rare luxury for undergraduate instrumentalists whose majors are as work–intensive as computer science. While many of his friends have given up music to balance out their college lives, Parker is grateful to be able to pursue his two great passions at the same time.

Ultimately, though, Parker thinks the most rewarding part of all his winnings is not the money or the ensuing free time, but the community. “I got a girlfriend through the Gates Scholarship, and that’s fantastic,” he said. “I love her. I love all the friends I’ve met through [my awards.]”

To Parker, scholarships are just one tool in an ever-growing kit for chasing his dreams. From a career in software development to a vast world of networking connections and internships, using Scholarships.com has opened the door to Parker’s future, and it’s just as bright as he is.

“I am known to be that guy,” he concluded with a smile. “To bring in the energy.”

Sign up to receive your own personalized scholarship matches today, sent directly to your email inbox every week. Download Parker’s app Ease-Amind from the iOS app store.