Joseph Lawhorn

On Saturday, May 28th 2016, I was awakened by the most horrific news any young boy could get. At 4:28 am my mother came to me and said, “It is time to tell daddy bye, he is about to go to heaven.” At such a young age this impacted my life tremendously. I often wondered how I would live life without my father, but I soon realized I had to live it just as I had lived it before but with just a few changes. You see, my father was a very hard working man, a generous guy and a kind father but at the time of death he did not have a current life insurance policy to pay out. Not long before his death he was diagnosed with Wilson’s disease. Just prior to and after this diagnosis in 2015 his health declined immensely. Because of an earlier divorce and financial issues, my parent’s life insurance policy lapsed. My mom had a life policy at her work but with no job and on disability, my father had no coverage. In December 2015, my parents looked began looking at coverage for my dad. Since he had a predetermined illness it was difficult for them to find affordable coverage.

From that point on, I realized that my life would change forever. At the age of 14 I got my first job to help my single mother pay bills, and so I could have the spending money that a 15 year old wants to have. For the four years of my high school career, I maintained a 4.0 through all the hardships and challenges in my life. I’ll be graduating in May as one of the top 7 of my graduating class. During my senior year, I’ve attended dual enrollment college courses offered by and paid for by my home state. This is yet one more way to help alleviate some of the financial burden that comes with a bill for college. My mother is a school teacher and makes too much money for me to get student loans but not nearly enough to pay for the agribusiness education that I would like to obtain at a four year university. I’m a natural leader and I want to come back to my South Georgia roots to help restore the agricultural field that was recently destroyed by the devastating 2018 Hurricane Michael. Agriculture is in crisis in my area. As a state winner in an FFA agriculture project and then placing 4th in the nation, I know that I have a great deal of talent that I can share with my community. Pursuing a degree in a field I love and then giving back is something that feels right to me. Giving back and being generous is something I learned from watching my daddy. Your scholarship would help me give back. Attending college with the fewest expenses as possible would help me and my family by saving us these financial burdens.