Joshua Nelson, 18, from Missouri, is graduating from St. Charles West High School this week and will be attending Southeast Missouri State in the fall. He had saved up money to pay for his tuition, but when he received the college's President's Scholarship, he decided to take his savings and donate it to other students in need.
"It comes from my family education and faith," Nelson said. "I've always lived by strong principles as far as being a cheerful giver andhaving an open handwhen it comes to giving back so I feel like that really motivated me. "
SEMO's President's Scholarship is the school's most celebrated, and is only awarded to five top students annually. Nelson said he sat down and outlined how a scholarship could work to help future students who need financial assistance for college. Originally the plan was to give away $ 1,000 the one time, but then he met up with his counselor (顾问), Yolanda Curry, to work out a game plan.
"I wasn't expecting it at all!" Curry said. "He told me he had a great idea and wanted to share it with me. I could tell he was really excited.
Nelson, in association with his high school, set up the Joshua Nelson Leaders In Action Scholarship fund. Each year, $1,000 will be awarded to a senior. The money will come from donations, of which there have been $16,000 so far — for a total of $17,435 at last count, according to the school. With the money already in the fund, there's enough to give out a scholarship each year for over a decade. The first scholarship was awarded on June 1 to Darrell Montalvo-Luna. As the first recipient, his scholarship was $2,000.
"Joshua has the heart of a servant leader. He leads by example and he's genuinely excited when good things happen for other people," Curry said. "He's an encouragement — he's good at building others up and does what he can to help encourage and motivate those around.
