3 SENIORS RECEIVE FULL SCHOLARSHIPS


 3 Seniors Receive Full Scholarships

BY TIA CAROL JONES
     Kevin Carter, Kamaria Gutter and Bri’Yon Watts, seniors at Southland College Prep Charter High School, received full four-year scholarships from the QuestBridge National College
Match Program.
     Watts, who will attend Duke University, in Durham, NC, said he wanted to apply for the scholarship because his grandmother and Robert Lane, Southland’s director of college
admissions and alumni relations, encouraged him to apply.
    Carter, who will attend Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, lost his mother to ovarian cancer when he was in seventh grade. He said he applied for the scholarship because of his parents and also because it offered an opportunity for a full ride. Receiving the scholarship was
the “best way” that he could give back to his parents, he said, and added that it alleviated some of the “stress” that came along with his “circumstances.”
    Gutter, who will attend Washington University, in St. Louis, said she applied because Lane introduced it to her. Gutter, who also comes from a single parent family, wanted to take
stress off of her mother. “I knew it would be a great opportunity to just really help out and make her proud of me and pursue my dreams and my goals,” she stated.
     Watts said he was in disbelief when he found out he received the scholarship, but it felt good. “It took a moment to actually register and realize that all the hard work I had put
in, the teacher recommendations, the supplements, the personal essays, the four years of grades in high school,
devoting my time to extra curriculars, actually paid off and it showed that it actually meant something,” he said.
     “There are actually people out there listening to my story and understanding that I wanted to keep going,” he
added.
     Watts went on to say that he was happy that he was able to achieve it.
      That sentiment was shared by Carter.
     He also said that it has been a blur to process everything established by the accomplishment.
     Gutter said the application process was very strenuous and nerve-racking.
     She said when she found out she received the scholarship, she was emotional. “You put in a lot of work for it, just to have your dream come true and everything that you work so
hard for, it was surreal,” she said.
      Lane said the student’s accomplishments show the community what is possible and what students are capable of doing. He said it’s also a validation of the investment parents
have made.
     “Each one of them have a very unique story to tell,” Lane said. “And, I think they did a fabulous job of putting their story, academically, socially and, in conjunction with community in the appropriate context,” he added.
     “And, I think in doing so, really made it inevitable that they would be recognized for their achievements. I think as a group, as a collective, what it means is - it demonstrates what’s possible for the young people of the South Suburban community,” Lane continued. “I just think it’s a validation of the hard work they’ve put in and validation of the investment each one of their families has put in.”

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