Joshua Nelson, 18, is getting ready to graduate from St. Charles West High School in St. Charles, Missouri.
"I plan to go to Southeast Missouri State and go into their pre-optometry program. I'll be majoring in bio-medical sciences," he said.Nelson, an excellent student, a three-year varsity basketball player and president of the school's Multi-Cultural Achievement Committee, was duly offered a scholarship by the university. Yolanda Curry, a guidance counselor at St. Charles West High School, describes the Multi-Cultural Achievement Committee thusly:
"The mission of it is to encourage students of color to maximize their potential and to become college and career ready." They work on resume-writing, interviewing skills and even strategies for their college admission tests.
Recently Nelson announced that he had saved up more than $1,000 for college but since he earned a scholarship, he's decided to use his savings to help another student go to college. Curry says she was not expecting this.
"I think he's an inspiration to some of the other people at the school especially students of color," said classmate Harmony Hudson. "I don't even think he realizes that he's doing that much for everyone else as well."
"I really thought it was important to give back to my community that poured in so much to me," Nelson said. Over the next few weeks with some help from his parents and teachers, he'll be accepting applications for this special scholarship, with the hope that some donors will help the thousand dollars multiply.
If you would like to donate electronically to the Joshua Nelson Scholarship In Action Scholarship fund, click here.
If you would like to donate to the scholarship fund via check or money order, please make it payable to:
St. Charles West High School
(Please also write in the lower lefthand corner "JN Scholarship")
Please mail your donation to the address listed below:
St. Charles West High School
Attn: Yolanda Curry
3601 Droste Road
St. Charles, MO 63301
