Joshua Nelson is not the everyday scholarship recipient. He is the type of person who truly wants the growth of everyone in his circle while making great strides. Upon receiving a full-ride scholarship to his top college choice, Nelson decided to donate his savings towards college to another student in need.
The St Charles West High School student received the President’s Scholarship of $43,000 that will cover his entire stay in Southeast Missouri State. He will enter their pre-optometry program and major in biomedical sciences.
Nelson is a varsity basketball player and president of the school’s Multi-Cultural Achievement Committee. The 18-year-old has always been on top of his game and lives by the mission of the Multi-Cultural Achievement Committee which “is to encourage students of color to maximize their potential and to become college and career ready.”
He led different empowering workshops such as resume writing, interviewing skills, and strategies to ace college admissions tests.
A school counselor, Yoanda Curry, said everyone is proud of Nelson especially because “he just has a heart for people.”
Cultivating the habit of saving while in high school, Nelson saved more than $1,000 for college. Upon receiving the scholarship, he decided to set up a fund to help a student in need. The Joshua Nelson Leaders In Action Scholarship aims”to help multicultural students who are showing leadership, community service and just have great qualities in and out of the classroom.” Nelson hopes that others would donate to multiply his thousand dollars and make another student’s dream come true.
Nelson admits he takes pride in helping others because he got help from the community and this is his way to give back. “I really thought it was important to give back to my community that poured in so much to me…Honestly, it makes me feel on top of the world. The fact that I can just help somebody a little bit makes me feel great, and I really want to see other people succeed,” said Nelson.
He has since earned the admiration of his peers. “I think he’s an inspiration to some of the other people at the school, especially students of color. I don’t even think he realizes that he’s doing that much for everyone else as well,” classmate Harmony Hudson said.
“We’re extremely proud of him,” Curry added.
