This post was written by Hatchet reporter Silverio Ramirez

When Nia Christian walked into her English class Thursday morning she never expected it to be interrupted by the president of her future college.

University President Steven Knapp, joined by GW Director of Admissions Karen Felton, entered her classroom just before lunch and surprised Christian with a full-ride scholarship to GW.

Christian, a senior at Benjamin Banneker High School, was awarded one of the nine Stephen Joel Trachtenberg scholarships that cover full cost of attendance for four years at GW. Students were selected from eight high schools across the city.

She said she was “ecstatic and thankful” to receive the aid award.

“I’m most excited for my first class, just the college experience in general,” she said. “I don’t really know what to expect, but it is GW so I’m sure it’s going to be something spectacular.”

The scholarship fund has doled out more than $16 million to 133 students in the District in the past two decades. Recipients of the four-year renewable scholarship have about a 90 percent graduation rate.

“This is the best day of my year, every year, because I get to give people really nice surprises,” Knapp said. “It is really exciting because the students are tremendously moved and are surprised at this recognition of hard work they put into their studies.”

Students are selected based on class rank, grade point average, standardized test scores, teacher recommendations and involvement in service and extracurricular activities.

Christian’s mother Rebecca Christian said her daughter had only heard back from two other colleges and was nervously waiting to hear back from GW.

“This has alleviated a lot of stress for her,” Rebecca Christian said. “She worked extremely hard and was very diligent during the entire process. For us as a family we are just very elated and happy she can be recognized in this way.”

Christian plans to study electrical engineering with a possible minor in geological sciences at GW.