Lynn Watson’s smile radiates the way summer sunshine beams in a cloudless sky. She whips wisps of mousey brown hair from her face and dips her chin ever so slightly, before declaring that she’s still in shock over winning a national scholarship competition for $20,000. After all, she is one of only 105 high school students in the country named a National Horatio Alger Scholar.
The scholarship attached to the honor will be doled out over four years, and was awarded to Watson based on critical financial need, involvement in co-curricular and community activities, demonstrated integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity.
“I could complain about things not being fair in my life, or I could work hard and keep moving forward,” Watson said. “I knew that if I wanted to a make something of myself I would need to go to college so this scholarship is a big step in that direction.”
Life, after all, hasn’t always been easy for the vibrant yet soft-spoken Lake Taylor High School senior. Watson has seen her fair share of hardships. Her mother passed away after a long period of illness and hospitalization when Watson was only 8-years-old. The death left Watson and her sister who has cerebral palsy in the sole care of her father. He struggled with being a single dad and the loss of his wife led him to a drug addiction. Rehab followed. All the while Watson went about her business as a student, doing her school work and making the best of her situation. Never once did she give up. Never once, did she stop dreaming of a brighter future. A future that now includes a college education.
Watson intends to use her scholarship to study social work and counseling at Old Dominion University. Entering the human services field to counsel others, she said, is her way of paying it forward.
“I want people to know that they don’t have to let their hardships get them down and keep them from realizing their dreams,” Watson said. “You have to make the best of your situation because without the bad days, you can’t appreciate the good ones.”
According to its web site, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. bears the name of the renowned author Horatio Alger, Jr., whose tales of overcoming adversity through unyielding perseverance and basic moral principles captivated the public in the late 19th century. The Association is a nonprofit educational organization and was established in 1947. A major mission of the Association is to “provide scholarship assistance to deserving young people who have demonstrated integrity and determination in overcoming adversity, academic potential, and the personal aspiration to make a unique contribution to society.” The organization also follows up with its scholarship recipients and mentors them about the importance of community service.
It is a lesson Watson understands all too well. When her school decided to embark upon a community service project on Saturdays to clean up neighboring streets of trash, most times Watson was the only student to show up.
“It didn’t bother Lynn that it was just her and a few members of our faculty because she understood why we were doing it,” said Lake Taylor Assistant Principal Monica Robinson. “She is just very community-minded and wants to do service for others.”
Watson is a member of the LT yearbook staff and with a 3.85 grade point average is active in the high school’s National Honor Society. It is her faith, however, that keeps Watson most grounded.
“I pray a lot and God is a big part of my life,” she said. “He was the one who was always there for me and helped me see it through.”
