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CLAIBORNE COUNTY, Tenn. — Mission of Hope is celebrating an incredible milestone: 100 college students who have received a scholarship to graduate from college.
The 100th graduate is Madison Mullins, a proud native of Claiborne County. Mullins graduated from Lincoln Memorial University in December, and works at her alma mater, Cumberland Gap High School.
“Knowing that I was a 100th scholar, it’s such a rewarding feeling,” Mullins said. “The ministry stays with you, the mentors stay, they contact you, they push you.”
David Heatherly, the Executive Director of Mission of Hope, said the nonprofit tries to give students scholarships who might not have a 4.0 GPA, or who may not be involved in many extracurriculars at school.
“We wanna come alongside of our kids,” Heatherly said. “Not only with the money to go to college, but more importantly, each child has a mentor that’s assigned to them. A lot of our children may or may not have the support at home to actually finish college.”
Mullins said she was one of those students who didn’t have that support.
“My mother and father are active drug addicts, so I grew up with that,” she said. “My grandparents took full custody of me when I was probably around 3 years old. We struggled; it was a very trauma-filled childhood.”
Mullins had other challenges too. Her grandmother was diagnosed with lymphoma when she was in her junior year of high school. Months after that diagnosis, her family’s house burned down.
“My grandmother, when she was going through chemo, she would always say, ‘This too shall pass,'” she said. “So anytime I go into a dark spot, I would just pray.”
Mullins was assigned a mentor, who regularly texted her bible verses and prayed for her. She said that encouragement kept her going.
“It was such a huge impact on my life,” Mullins said. “I made it in life, and I did exactly what I wanted to do when the Lord blessed me to be exactly where I am.”
Mullins is now a student support specialist at Cumberland Gap High School within the Ayers Foundation. She is pouring into students in her hometown, helping them navigate college applications, and securing them scholarships.
“What we found is they go back into their communities,” Heatherly said. “It creates a bridge of hope for other kids in that community that may not see a outlet.”
Mission of Hope provides 13 scholarships a year of $3,000 per student, per year. The students also get a laptop, other software needed and support from a mentor. The scholarships target students who need it most across Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky in rural Appalachia.
Heatherly said this milestone would not be possible without the help of thousands of people donating, praying and volunteering. Anyone who wants to help scholars like Madison can visit the Mission of Hope’s website.
