Dedication and hard work in high school has paid off for 18-year-old Mitchell Edwards as he prepares to begin the next chapter of his academic career.
The 2014 Franklin County graduate will attend Harvard in the fall.
The son of Kirk and Lynn Edwards, of Broovkille, graduated on June 8 with a 4.5 grade point average. He finished fourth overall in the class of 205 seniors.
Edwards received the Harvard acceptance letter in December. After visiting the prestigious college in Cambridge, Mass., he knew it was the right fit for him.
“The campus is beautiful and they have so many resources with the highest endowment of any college in the world,” Edwards said. “The community is insane there just how accepting everyone is!”
The Brookville native will pursue his favorite subject as a major in college, history.
“I love history because you can look at what happened and sort of get a perspective on is happening and might happen.”
“History combines so many different disciplines, I love literature, languages, government and sociology and all of that is combined in history and you can do a lot of interdisciplinary study with those other social sciences,” he added.
Edwards notes that his parents played a major role in his path to an ivy league school.
“When it started to shape up like ‘could be a real possibility,’ they were all on board. They were like, ‘we have to research, we have to visit, we have to compare , figure out the best fit for you,” Edwards recalled. “Without their support and how open they were with my dreams I don’t think I would have even had a shot.”
Edwards added that he hopes his acceptance into the world-renowned university can inspire future Franklin County High School students to keep the grades up in high school and pursue their dreams.
“I want them to do exactly what they want and try for exactly what they want and don’t settle for anything,” Edwards stated. “[Hopefully] it shows other kids that whatever they want to do they can.”