Pro-Vision Academy Highlight: Brandon Prince's Award-Winning Essay

This time of year high school students have a lot on their minds. Graduation is right around the corner, which means proms, parties and college preparations are well underway. For seniors life is about to enter a new phase as they leave secondary school behind. Juniors like Pro-Vision Academy’s Brandon Lee Prince are also looking ahead to their future in higher education.

Many of the students at Pro-Vision Academy are using this time to get ready for college, which is something that many of them never thought would be possible. For Brandon, life after high school could have been dramatically different had he not come to Pro-Vision Academy. In his essay “The Value of College,” Brandon describes the struggles he experienced in life before finding his way to the school and how his outlook on the future has changed. The essay was so compelling that it won him a $500 award in the Black College Expo Scholarship Competition.

During the Expo Brandon also received four college acceptances on the spot from Fisk University, Lane College, Lincoln University of Missouri and Paul Quinn College. These offers included full merit-based scholarships to Fisk University and Lane College, which he plans to attend. Numerous colleges were understandably impressed by his 3.4 GPA, participation in Pro-Vision Academy programs and the powerful opening to his essay, which stated:

“My life has been a true reflection of God’s grace and mightiness. I often reflect on those times in my life when many thought I was a lost cause. Being expelled from school, experiencing homelessness, growing up without a father and constant thoughts of suicide all served as bricks in the road of my journey. Every day I have visions of making it out of my situation and experiencing success to its fullest. I’m at a point in my life where I refuse to dream anymore. Dreaming is an attribute of sleeping; I desire to live daily with a vision. Today, I envision myself being a leader on a college campus. My name is Brandon Lee Prince and I’m currently a junior at the Pro-Vision Academy in Houston, Texas.”

Brandon readily admits that before moving to Houston and enrolling at Pro-Vision Academy he was not a bad student. He was simply a misguided one. His mother was raising Brandon and his siblings on her own, and the family had to live in a number of homeless shelters as Brandon bounced from school to school. “When I began attending the Pro-Vision Academy the idea of college was introduced into my life,” he states in his essay.

Now college consumes Brandon’s thoughts. Despite the financial considerations, he works every day to get one step closer to reaching that goal and creating a positive change for himself and his mother. His essay finishes with the insightful thought that, “In my eyes college isn’t the finish line but a gateway leading to a greater purpose. Although I have experienced many trials and tribulations, attending college is no longer far-fetched.”

Pro-Vision Academy is so proud of Brandon and all of our students, past and present. Brandon’s story is a wonderful example of our mission and what we aspire to do. One student at a time, Pro-Vision Academy hopes to change the mindset of young men and women from being misguided to feeling a sense of purpose and empowerment to shape their own futures.

Image Sources: www.flickr.com/photos/louveciennes/2408602369, www.thecollegeexpo.org

Original Source: http://www.provision-inc.orgs/pro-vision-academy-highlight-brandon-princes-award-winning-essay