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GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina seniors have started graduating high school and moving on to their next chapters.
When David Pierce looks at the amount of money he was awarded in scholarship aid, he’s speechless.
He says it took discipline and spending time every day finding money.
“Each day you have 30 minutes of your time or 20 minutes of your time in the day. Each day you could do at least one or two scholarships each day, and it’s all possible,” Pierce said.
Pierce will be attending East Carolina University in the fall, but he says it wasn’t easy.
“When my dad passed, my actions just turned into like chaos. I was getting in trouble every day,” he said.
Pierce attended Trio Upward Bound at N.C. A&T, a program where he received financial aid, scholarship help and exposure to other colleges and mentors.
That guidance led him to gather over $1 million in scholarship money and to commit to ECU.
“I chose ECU because I could get into the design program,” Pierce said. “I want to learn how to design and color suits. So, I use fabric for the suits and learn how to make suits.”
Pierce said he wants to design suits in memory of his late father.
“I wanted to start doing that because when my dad passed in 2019. I loved his suits, like he loved suits … and I love the way he wore his suits. So, when he died, I became passionate about it in 11th grade.”
Pierce and his mom are grateful for everything he has accomplished and says his father would be also.
