“I strive for delayed gratification. Don’t look for gratification right now because I’m focused on my future. My focus is on what I can achieve later on,” Lyons says
“First you have to set your goals, then you have to declare it,” Lyons the black teen who makes it all look easy says.
“Put your goals in front of you and go chase them,” he determines.
“You have to believe in yourself as well,” according to Lyons.
“I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go at first. After I applied to the first five, I decided to keep going. I didn’t want to undervalue myself; wanted to have as many choices as I could,” says Lyons. .
“When you don’t feel like doing the work, you just have to do it anyway. Get over the laziness and not wanting to do it, push through it.”
While gaining an acceptance into collage is no doubt considered a feat, for Samuel Lyons, its a breeze. The Franklin High School (FHS) senior grabbed massive headlines racking multiple college acceptance letters and jaw dropping over $1.6M for his tuition,
According to KVUE, Samuel Lyons bagged admission to 40 colleges alongside being offered $1.6 million in scholarship money. This was as May this year
While the admission letters keep rolling in, then, still only the beginning of May, the guidance counselor at the school reveals that the list could continue to grow.
“We started in August 2020 doing his college applications and he has diligently been working at home applying to colleges while virtual,” shared Guidance Counselor Ale Massenburg. “I do not believe this is all of his scholarship money or acceptance letters. We have completed several other scholarships from different organizations that we are waiting on. I believe that he will get those also.”
Lyons at the time had gained admission to the University of Richmond, George Mason University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Ferrum College all located in the state of Virginia but set eyes upon Virginia Commonwealth University located in the state’s capital, Richmond, where Lyons has received the VCU Engineering Progressive Award in the amount of $30,000.
“It was very time-consuming,” shared Lyons. “I had to manage my time while applying to so many schools and doing virtual learning. I didn’t really know what to expect since it was my first time applying to colleges. I didn’t expect to get offered so much in scholarship money.”