HIGH POINT, N.C., Aug. 12, 2015 – High Point University’s incoming freshman Kayla Mitchell was recently presented with the university’s First Generation Scholarship, which covers full tuition, fees and books for four years. She is one of two local high school graduates who received this honor.
HPU awards the scholarships annually to Guilford County Schools graduates from High Point who are the first in their family to pursue a college degree. This is the sixth year HPU has awarded the scholarships to area high school students.
Mitchell, who graduated from Penn Griffin School for the Arts, spent her spare time in high school giving back. She was an ambassador for the Service Learning Club and spent countless hours volunteering in and around the city.
“Giving back made me feel like I was making a difference in someone else’s life, and that is what is most important,” says Mitchell. “Volunteering creates a positive ripple effect in the lives of the volunteers and the ones they are helping.”
Mitchell says she is excited to have this opportunity to be the first person in her family to go to college and is grateful to attend HPU.
“At HPU, I will become completely prepared for living and succeeding in my future career,” says Mitchell. “My parents are extremely proud of me, and I know it brings them joy to see me succeed.”
“I am so overwhelmed with pride for my daughter,” says Marjie Remole, Kayla’s mother. “Without this scholarship she may not have been able to attend college. We are so grateful for the opportunity and honored that she is going to such a wonderful university.”
Mitchell will major in criminal justice. She plans to be a DNA analyst or crime scene investigator following graduation.
“The professors at HPU know you by name and they truly care about your success,” says Mitchell. “The university puts everything it has into preparing extraordinary students for the life ahead of them, and I am ready to be one of them.
In addition to receiving the First Generation Scholarship, Mitchell was selected to be a member of the HPU Bonner Leader Program where she will volunteer 200 hours of community service to the city of High Point each year.
Dominya’ Donahue, a graduate of High Point Central, is also the recipient of this year’s First Generation Scholarship.