Dominique Reese

Princeton University

Economics

I was born in Los Angeles, California, and was raised by my grandparents. My father died when I was two.

A kindergarten teacher thought I was a gifted child and recommended testing and involvement with progressive academic programs. Her expression of interest in me changed my entire life. I have never stopped being fascinated by learning. I attended gifted classes in schools in South Central Los Angeles, including the Gifted Magnet Program at Crenshaw High School.

During high school I enrolled in the Riordan Program at the Anderson School of Business at UCLA under the Directorship of Ardena Bartlett, a Board Member of the South Central Gifted Scholar Fund. One of the students I met at Riordan interested me in Princeton University. I am now a senior majoring in economics with a minor in African American Studies. The scholarship from The Fund has helped me cover the shortfalls in the financial package offered by Princeton.

The Fund also stimulated me to pursue a career in financial analysis. In the Summer of 2003, I worked with Capital Strategies in Los Angeles, an investment group with David Hou (a Board member of The Fund). Mark Sear, a partner at Capital Strategies, has funded my South Central Gifted Scholar Fund scholarship for the entire four years. Both men have inspired me to pursue economics and financial analysis at Princeton. The Fund has helped me obtain a job at the Merrill Lynch Corporate Offices in New Jersey for the Summer of 2005. Upon graduation I was offered a full time postion. These opportunities would not have been possible without the assistance of the South Central Gifted Scholar Fund.