WALKER — High school senior Collin Sprouse has built an impressive list of accomplishments, and he’s just getting started. Among his latest achievements: being named Walker High School’s Student of the Year and a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist.
Every year, about 16,000 high school seniors are selected for the scholarship program, based on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Sprouse said he was hopeful about moving on after he received his test score.
“I had a pretty good feeling that I would be selected based on my score,” he said. “So, it was just about waiting for them to officially announce it.”
When the semifinalists were announced, Sprouse’s principal called him into the office to deliver the news. Despite feeling good about his chances of moving on, Sprouse couldn’t believe it.
“I was super shocked. I felt like all the hard work that I’d put in came out at once,” he said. “It just hit me and made me super appreciative of all the teachers that have helped me in the past and all the preparation to get to that moment.”
Then the news started spreading, and the excitement was contagious. “My parents were super excited. Whenever I told them, I had so many of their friends call me, and family call me,” Sprouse said. “The administrators are super proud. It’s a really surreal moment.”
“My grandmother was the one who was the most excited. When she found out, I actually visited her at work, and as soon as I walked in the door, she was like, ‘You’re in the paper! You’re in the paper!’ She was jumping up and down. It was great,” he said.
Sprouse submitted his application and essay for the next round of National Merit Scholarship competition. He’s now competing for about 6,900 National Merit Scholarships, with a total value of approximately $26 million, which will be awarded in the spring.
On top of Sprouse’s recent achievements, he is also captain of the Walker High School Boys Soccer Team, referees soccer, has been a consistent member of the “All A” honor roll, and even founded his own charity, called KidCreations.
“I am very, very busy, and it takes a lot. But my family really helps me out a lot,” Sprouse said. “I have soccer practices multiple nights a week. I go to church on Wednesdays, I referee soccer and work another job at Jersey Mike’s. So doing all of this and trying to balance it has been a lot, but it’s all it’s all rewarding. It’s all paid off, and it really makes a big difference.”
In 2019, Sprouse was elected Student of the Year for South Walker Elementary School, went on to win Livingston Parish Student of the Year and the regional competition. He was one of seven state finalists for Louisiana Elementary Student of the Year, and attended the ceremony. He said that while he was there, he realized everyone else had one specific thing that they did.
“I remember telling my parents after we went home that night, ‘I didn’t win, but the experience it was very memorable,’” he said. “And I told them, ‘I want to do my own thing. I want to help out my community and just be the person that as an example encourages other people to go out and help the community as well.’”
Sprouse said it took some time for him to decide what it was he wanted to to do to give back, but eventually started KidCreations. The charity takes donations from around the community and makes activity bags for children who are at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital.
The bags have things like coloring books, fidget toys, and stress balls. “That way they’re not sitting around thinking about any procedures that they have, anything that’s going wrong in their life, they have something to kind of take their mind off of it,” Sprouse said. “The first year 2019 we donated 95 bags. Last year we did 750.”
“I remember the first year dropping off those bags of the hospital and seeing the children and the smiles on their faces, that was the best part for me, the smiles on everybody’s face, seeing that I touched their life and I was able to help them out,” he recalled.
Sprouse’s father, Johnathan Sprouse, said it’s his son’s dedication to others that’s most notable.
“He has always been a dedicated student, but that has never been his sole focus,” his father said. “What has always impressed us is his deep compassion for others. We admire his passion and how hard he works, but it’s his genuine concern for the people around him that truly stands out.”
Sprouse said the outcome of the National Merit Scholarship, as well as the other scholarships he applied for will determine where he goes to college.
“It all depends on what scholarship I receive,” he said. “I definitely would love to go to LSU and stay home, and keep working with KidCreations.”
“If I have an opportunity to go somewhere else, I’m always open to any ideas. I’m applying to several different places. Wherever I feel like the best fit is for me, and a big part of that is the community that it’s in as well. I want to be able to have somewhere where I can feel like I’m making a difference.”
Sprouse hopes to keep making a difference even after college, and plans to pursue a career as a nurse anesthetist. “I want to be the person who makes people feel safe and feel comfortable with whatever they’re going through,” Sprouse said.
“When I saw the idea of being a nurse anesthetist, someone who helps people feel comfortable going through surgeries and making sure that they are taken care of and that they’re comfortable with what they’re going through. I want to be that person for people, who’s there for them if they need anybody, and make sure that everything goes smoothly.”
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