Waiting and finding out whether or not you got accepted into colleges can be an exciting and nail-biting, anxious moment.
This is emphasized when it comes to your dream school, as is the case of Amir Staten, a Pennsylvania teen who recently went viral for his exuberant reaction when he got accepted into his ideal university.
And the joy has continued to elevate as he learned he would be attending the school with his whole tuition being paid via a scholarship.
Getting Accepted Into a Historical University
This past February, Staten, based in Philadelphia, sparked many people’s attention across the U.S. for his exuberant reaction to the acceptance.
In a video shared by Good Morning America, Staten can be seen leaping up and down and yelling with pure happiness after getting accepted into Morehouse, a historically Black all-male university in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Let’s go! I just got in. Mom, I just got in,” he could be heard saying in the video.
A few months after that heartwarming moment was filmed, Staten also discovered that he received a full-ride four-year scholarship to Morehouse.
According to the university’s website, it costs nearly $52,000 per year to attend while living on campus.
Karlynne Staten, Amir’s mother, shared a video where he can be seen crying out of pleasant surprise when he found out he was one of 15 Bonner Scholars through an email.
“You don’t have to pay for college,” Amir can be heard explaining to his mom.
Founded in 1990 by the Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation, hailing from Princeton, New Jersey, the program aids the men of Morehouse by fostering service throughout the campus by helping them become accountable and honorable leaders while promoting positive changes in the world around them.
Staten’s mom revealed that he was an exceptional student as he received the honor roll and became head of his school’s Black Student Union.
He also was no stranger to sports as he was the basketball team captain.
The Sacrifices One Mom Made for a Better Future
Giving back to the community, Staten’s mom also said he completed 120 hours of community service.
“He has gone above and beyond of what is expected of him,” Staten’s mom told Good Morning America.
Noting that Amir has a twin sister and that she fosters a young boy, Staten’s mom took on other workloads to ensure they would be set for college.
“I have been working three or four jobs for the last four or five years so I could try to save up and maintain a household and still have some type of funding [for their college degrees],” she told the outlet.
According to Kevin Booker, the dean and vice president of Morehouse student service, Staten, along with the other scholars in the program, will go to the Dominican Republic in their senior year of undergraduate studies.
While there, they will work at an orphanage, fulfilling the scholarship’s premise of helping those in need.
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