Dejuan Ajani Gray; 2022 Granville and Viola South Scholarship Recipient

What are your goals, dreams, and aspirations for the future?

All my life I have been surrounded by people who are determined, they knew what they wanted to achieve in life from an early age. I come from a family of athletics, therefore, I developed a passion for track and field. It is my goal to become a professional athlete and a businessman. I learnt a long time ago that being an athlete is more than just playing a sport and making a living. It will be a great accomplishment to represent my country and do something that I love. It is demanding but I am motivated to be the best of myself. I also aspire to be an entrepreneur to help others and also to have a backup plan in case of emergency. I want to help my family and the wider community and let others know that your background does not determine how successful you become.

How would this scholarship help you attain your educational goals?

I do not come from a “well-off” family. Money is always tight. I believe that winning this scholarship will take this financial  burden off my parents and allow me to focus greatly on my academics which will enable me to achieve my goals. The scholarship will give me confidence and make me feel that I deserve to succeed. It will be a good start for me. As a hardworking student, I could not ask for anything better at this important time in my education. Furthermore, I believe that I have always been good at school and have participated in extracurricular activities. This scholarship will be proof of my abilities and will pave the way to receive a productive education.

Briefly describe why you are deserving of this scholarship.

Being young and seeing my parents struggle is hard for me. It is challenging seeing the people you love go through hard times and cannot do anything about it. But then, I realized, I can do something about it; I can get good grades in school. I can pass my examinations; I can get into a great high school; I can attend a great University and I can earn my degree in business. Nothing would make me happier than to be able to take care of my parents like the way they've been taking care of me all my life. My involvement in school and church proves that I am a student committed to developing a promising future. I feel blessed that I am given the opportunity to be awarded a scholarship to help fulfill my dream. I will prove that I do have what it takes to not only be a successful student but an outstanding businessman. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.