ALBA, Texas — A high school senior from Alba is one step closer to reaching his college goals.
He is one of 1,300 semifinalists selected for a highly competitive national scholarship program.
"He came into my office and was like, I'm a semifinalist, and I was like, that's such a big deal," Assistant Principal Shelby Keller said.
Brandt Peterson’s leadership, community service and academics at Alba Golden High School landed him a step closer to a prestigious opportunity. The high school senior has been named a semifinalist for the 2025 Coca-Cola Scholars Program.
"I'm extremely grateful for it, I've had great opportunities and there's great staff who have helped me a lot and I've very appreciative of it," Brandt Peterson said.
The Coca-Cola Scholars program is the largest corporate-sponsored achievement-based scholarship program in the United States. With more than 105,000 applicants, Peterson was among the top 1.27% selected.
"He's a leader among his peers, he's very motivated to do well, he's also very involved in our dual credit program at TJC and he's one of the top students in our class," Peterson said.
Peterson is a jack of all trades; with his accomplishments he hopes to land a trip to Atlanta Georgia to be a recipient finalist of $20,000.
"It would definitely take a lot of stress off of both my parents and be and provide a lot for my study tools," Peterson said.
He aspires to attend a two-year Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints mission trip and then attend BYU or Utah Valley University to study either pediatrics or paramedics.
"Saving lives and caring for them is something I've been interested in medical type field," Peterson said.
Peterson and the other semifinalist are being asked to complete phase two applications. That which includes essays and submitting a transcript. A selection committee will then drop the number to 250 regional finalists and conduct interviews. That would take place in January.
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