Determined marching band member and Deklab County senior Jaedin Wright is turning heads after locking down $3.4 million dollars in scholarships and getting accepted to 40 out of the 50 colleges where he applied.
Wright is a standout in the school band, where he plays trombone and led the band as drum major.
“This instrument has taught me a lot of life lessons,” Jaedin said. “Unfortunately, my dream school didn’t accept me. But that just opened the doors for new things.”
“Rejection is just re-direction,” he said. “I got into about 40 or 50 schools.”
According to 11Alive, at a Commitment Day celebration, Jaedin was shocked to learn he had earned $3,477,716 in various scholarship offers. The money includes academic and musical scholarships, along with grants and other funds.
“They were like — ‘and this child has $3 million’ — and I’m like, who is this? This can’t be me… and then they just said my name,” he recalled, laughing.
Those who know Jaedin best aren’t surprised.
“Jaedin is the definition of hard work meets talent,” said his band director, Jared Davis. “He learns from everything. I say we either win or we learn. We never lose until we give up. And he hasn’t given up on anything.”
Wright will be the graduation speaker for his class this week.
“Persevere,” Wright said. “Be committed to one thing. Don’t drop it just because times get hard.”
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