He’s also a first-generation college student!
An Alabama senior has been accepted to more than 20 colleges, including his dream school, and received over $1.3 million in scholarship offers, the Montgomery Advertiser reports.
Omarion Ikaika Calloway is a senior at Park Crossing High School in Montgomery, Alabama. There he has excelled, maintaining at least a 3.9 average GPA, accelerating to a higher grade level math program and doing a lot of it virtually.”
“I have about 50 students in the program, I could have 25 of him, I think it would make my job a lot easier,” said J.Kelley Ross, a virtual learning facilitator at Park Crossing.
Omarion has even found time to give back to the community, recently taking a summer internship with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Now, he’s ready to step into his next stage of life and pursue a dream he’s had since he was 10 years old, attending NYU to become a filmmaker. Funny thing is, Omarion is already halfway there, recently getting accepted into 21 colleges and receiving more than $1.3 million in scholarship offers, one of the school’s being his beloved New York University.
The teen credits his late grandmother with encouraging him to pursue his dreams and attend NYU. At just 10 years old, Omarion became a caretaker for his grandmother and uncle who is disabled. His mother, Tiffany Calloway, would teach him how to administer his grandmother’s insulin and tend to her needs. Omarion’s grandmother recently passed away from colon cancer and Calloway said he’s going to miss tucking her in at night and reading her his original stories.
“My grandmother…inspired me to apply to NYU, so when she died…I just feel a certain pain in my home,” he said.
Omarion feels he owes it to his grandmother to stay the course and make his dream come alive. When he was younger, Omarion would sometimes use storytelling as an outlet, using a camera he got for Christmas to film his brother and make the entire family watch the film he created. At NYU, he’s hoping to become a part of “the next generation of storytellers and community builders.”
I know at NYU I’ll be trained in a media-based environment surrounded by artists like me,” said Calloway.
To be fair in applying, he made sure to have a plan B, applying to schools like Emerson College and Fordham University. But now that he’s been accepted to his dream school, he can turn the rest down. Omarion plans to not only tell stories that matter and help create a better community, but he also wants to start an organization for young caretakers where they can build a network of support and raise funds for them if needed. Ross said she’s more than positive that he’ll be able to get it done.
“He has an extraordinarily positive attitude about absolutely every endeavor. He’s one of those students that has an attitude that’s rare for a high school student. Pretty much already ready for college, I’m sure,” she said.
Congratulations, Omarion! Your grandmother is smiling down on you.
Photo Courtesy of Mickey Welsh/Montgomery Advertiser