Polk State Lakeland Collegiate High School senior receives Dream the Dream scholarship

During a time of year when Martin Luther King Jr.’s immortalized dream is most remembered, the Polk State College Foundation helped make one collegiate high school senior’s dream move a step closer to becoming a reality.
During the annual Polk State Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon on Jan. 15, Lyric Thompson was presented with a $500 Dream the Dream scholarship from the Foundation. Applicants for this scholarship must have an overall college grade-point average of 3.0 or greater and submit written responses about their educational and career goals, community service, the Civil Rights movement, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech.
A 12th-grade student at Polk State Lakeland Collegiate High School, Thompson wrote in her application that the transition to a collegiate high school setting was difficult at first. She is now set to graduate in May with both her Associate in Arts degree and high school diploma. A first-generation college student, Thompson has a 3.38 grade-point average and 135 community service hours.
“I grew up on welfare and in low-income housing, but I was always motivated to excel and not be a product of my environment,” she wrote in her application. “This is a vital reason why I have pushed forward and worked hard to keep moving forward towards making a better life for myself by choosing to go to college. I realized early in life that higher education would allow me to excel in making a better life for myself. Receiving a college scholarship to help pay for my college will be nothing short of a blessing and a dream come true.”
Polk State’s three charter high schools allow students to simultaneously complete requirements for their high school diplomas while earning college credits at no cost to them. In most cases, students graduate with both their high school diplomas and Associate in Arts (AA) degrees.
Raised by a single mother, Thompson credited her mother and grandmother for serving as her inspirations to achieve more. She plans on enrolling in Polk State’s Education Program as she begins her pursuit of baccalaureate degree. The scholarship funds can be used toward tuition and books.
The Polk State College Foundation’s generous donors who make the Dream the Dream scholarship possible contribute to the success of students like Thompson. The scholarship is awarded annually during the College’s MLK Celebration Luncheon, which honors Dr. King’s work to empower individuals, strengthen communities, bridge barriers, and create solutions to social problems.
Donations in support of this scholarship and others can be made online at foundation.polk.edu.