Anderson High School senior Nicholas Davis says the $25,000 college scholarship he was recently selected to receive is “a weight taken off my shoulders.”
Davis has been named one of 104 recipients of the $25,000 Horatio Alger National Scholarship for 2025.
“The issue of money, that has always kind of been the problem with me going to college,” Davis said. “This scholarship is hugely beneficial and makes a push toward paying for it.”
According to its website, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans started its scholarship programs in 1984, becoming “one of the largest privately funded, need-based scholarship providers in the United States.” More than $17 million was awarded to 1,830 students across the United States in 2024 through the Alger national and state scholarship programs.
To qualify, scholarship applicants must live in households with an average annual income of $34,000 or less and must have a grade-point average of 3.58 or better.
“He is a great kid,” Terri Wilson, college and career counselor at Anderson High, said of Davis.
“He advocates for himself, he comes to meetings, he asks for support and help when he needs it. I think that says a lot about a young student that is getting ready to transition out into the world.”
Along with the $25,000 scholarship, recipients receive services during their senior year of high school and throughout college, such as financial aid counseling, college selection advising, access to dedicated mentors and free mental health counseling.
“I think this scholarship is going to help me, not only financially, but with the emotional and mental aspect of college,” Davis said. “It is going to prepare me and make me ready and able to enter the workforce when that time comes.”
Davis is applying to colleges and plans to study cybersecurity. He encourages other students to apply for scholarships.
“You have to try,” Davis said. “That is the biggest part. Just making an attempt is a million times better than not trying at all.”
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.