Student Overcomes the Odds to Receive $1.8 Million In Scholarships, Including Full Scholarships to 6 Top Colleges

MARIETTA, Ga., May 24, 2017 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The Foundation for Ensuring Access and Equity today announced that on Sunday, May 28, 2017 the Turner Chapel AME Church in Marietta, Georgia will host its 10th Annual High School Graduation Celebration Worship Service. The blessings will be flowing for several students who have been offered full college scholarships. However, for Paulding County High School’s Kimberly Hadaway, the blessings are overflowing with full scholarships to 6 of the country’s top colleges: Princeton, Duke, Vanderbilt, Washington and Lee, Amherst, and Williams. For the past ten years, the church’s Education Ministry Leaders, Mychal and Nina Wynn, a college planning couple, who operate the Foundation for Ensuring Access and Equity’s nationally recognized ‘College Planning Cohort™ Program’ began inspiring elementary school students through the church’s biannual academic celebrations to aspire toward big college-bound dreams.
As a third grader, Kimberly approached Mr. Wynn with a request, “Mr. Wynn, I want to go to college and my mother cannot afford to pay for me to go to college. Since you know all of this college planning stuff, tell me what I need to do.”
Since that fateful request for help, the Wynns have been guiding Kimberly’s college trajectory. First, through test prep for Georgia’s CRCT testing as an elementary and middle school student. Then, by developing a 7-year middle-through-high school course schedule, heavy in advanced math, science, and Advanced Placement classes. Then, by encouraging Kimberly to make a commitment to leadership and community service. Finally, putting Kimberly on the radar of selective institutions with need-based, ‘no loans,’ financial aid policies by applying to their ‘Diversity Weekend’ programs.
Kimberly and her mother worked together as a team to follow the plan. The three-way partnership of Kimberly doing the work, her mother providing the support, and the Turner Chapel Education Ministry providing the guidance, achieved remarkable results. With grit and determination, Kimberly took each class that Mr. Wynn outlined, earned an ‘A’ in each class, earned a final grade of 100+ over 50 times, earned a passing score on 17 AP exams, and achieved an ACT Score in the 99th percentile nationally (‘33’)by Mr. Wynn’s deadline–June of her junior year of high school.
Kimberly’s full college scholarship offers could not come at a better time. After suffering through years of long-term unemployment, Kimberly’s single-parent mother has lost their home to foreclosure. Kimberly and her mom will be vacating their home within days following Kimberly’s graduation, as class salutatorian, at Paulding County High School. As her mom seeks temporary housing, Kimberly will be on her way, on a full scholarship and an all-expenses paid ‘Summer Science Program’ at the top ranked liberal arts college in the United States–Williams College where she will major in mathematics.